Scared
by BadLuckKat
Summary: They are on a supply run when they are trapped inside a pharmacy store by a herd of walkers outside. They run into Duane and Morgan, and they join together to survive in the new world. On their way to Morgan's house they run into a man who is wearing a hospital robe. They take him in and they are left with a choice, either stay with Morgan, or go with the man they have just met...
1. What The Hell is Going on?

Rewrite of Chapter 1! Hope this one is better than the first one. I apologize for the shortness of the chapter! xP

* * *

Valora woke up to the annoying sound of her alarm. Valora grumbled some colorful words before slamming her hand on the alarm clock. Valora pulled her covers over her head, and sighed feeling ready to go back to sleep. Valora suddenly felt cold and opened one eye to see that her covers had been removed. She groaned and covered her face with a pillow. One second later that was taken away from her as well.

"Come on mom," her son said sitting her up, "you gotta go get ready for work."

"But, I don't want to," she grumbled rubbing her eyes with her palms.

"Sometimes I wonder who's 17 and who's 30," her son sighed.

"I'll get up," she stood up throwing her arms in the air for a big stretch, she scratched her stomach, "did you get-"

"Already in the coffeepot," he smiled at her.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," she rustled his hair, and he glared at her.

"Probably never wake up," he fixed his hair quickly.

"Yeah, yeah," she waved at hand at him and covered her mouth with the other when she was yawning.

She got into the bathroom, and slowly stripped down trying to take a lot of time so the water would be hot. Once she finally got her clothes off she stepped into the shower. She shivered at first not expecting the hotness of the water. Valora finally relaxed and stood there for a minute before washing her hair. She lingered a while longer not wanting to face the cold outside of the shower.

She finally gave in, quickly stepping out grabbing a towel and wrapping her body in it's all-mighty fluffiness. She walked out of the bathroom and then into her walk in closet and changed into a black t-shirt. She put on some white capri pants with ties at the ends, and then some Toms that were red. She looked in the mirror, and decided that she was too lazy to do anything with her hair, and she just put it into a messy bun. She had looked awfully pale as well, so she decided to put on some cover up to make herself not look so tired. She smiled at herself in the mirror and gave herself a thumbs up for reaching her halfway mark. She was now a size 9, she had dropped 30 pounds in the last 3 months, and she was on her way to being a size 5.

Valora slowly made her way downstairs, but once she got one whiff of the coffee she was in the kitchen in a flash. Valora saw Steven standing in front of the tv sipping from his mug. Valora saw the coffee in the coffeepot and her special "A Giant Cup Of Shut The Fuck Up" mug he got her for her birthday was sitting next to the coffeepot. Valora quickly poured her coffee and stood next to Steven who was watching a hunting show.

"I should take you hunting this weekend," she took a sip of her coffee, "it's deer season this weekend."

"That'd be awesome if we could go," Steven smiled, "you still haven't eaten deer before have you?"

"Nope," she sighed, "that deer I shot down with my dad was long gone by the time we got to it. Some other hunter must have gotten it."

Steven nodded his head and took a sip of his coffee. The tv suddenly changed and it said in big bold yellow letters 'BREAKING NEWS'. Steven grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.

"Sorry for the interruption, but there's breaking news about a fever that is happening. If anyone has caught this fever immediately take them to a hospital. Symptoms are a really high temperature and shortness of breath. If anyone has-," she stopped and screamed, and someone was chasing after her, but they didn't look okay. Their skin was another color, and they seemed to be bleeding from the mouth.

Suddenly Stevens hand was on her forehead, and then shot to his. He sighed in relief, and he looked to her with seriousness in his face. It was the face her dad gave her sister and her when he needed to tell them something important. Steven looked so much like her dad it was heartwrenching.

"Mom, you are not going anywhere today," he told her and Valora raised an eyebrow, "we are now experiencing an apocalypse, Zombie apocalypse."

"What?" she asked feeling like this whole thing was a prank, "where's the hidden camera?" she said looking under the table cover.

"Mom, I'm serious," he grabbed her hand and she looked at him in the eyes, "that man was not human, at least not anymore. I'm telling you we need to stay in the house."

All she could do was nod her head, and look at him, "what do you suppose we do then?"

"Call Skylar," he said standing up and walking up the stairs, "tell her to have Josh bring over his guns, and knifes because we're gonna need them if we want to survive."

"Okay," Valora said grabbing her phone from the charger in the Kitchen.

She quickly dialed her number, the three rings of her phone before she picked up seemed to last forever, "hello?"

"Hey Skylar, you need to come over to my house, today," Valroa quickly said, "bring all of Josh's weapons, like his guns and knives."

"What's this all about?" she asked worry in her voice.

"Steven told me that there's a zombie apocalypse going on," Valora said and she heard Skylar laughing, "he looked at me with the look dad gave us."

The other side went silent, "be over in 20-30 minutes."

"The sooner the better," she said before hanging the phone up.

Valora set it on the counter and looked down at the phone in her trembling hands before feeling her stomach twist in knots. It was a lot to process in such little time. She grabbed her stomach and sat down at a stool. She breathed in and out three times like her psychiatrist had told her to if she got nervous or felt queasy.

"Steven?" she shouted throughout the house.

"I'm upstairs mom!" he shouted, "I'm gonna need your help."

Valroa slowly walked up the stairs, and turned to the right and opened Steven's door. She saw him on his knees pulling a bin out from under his bed. He slowly lifted the box giving her the impression that it was fairly heavy. I walked up to him, and when he popped open the box she lost her breath.

"Steven Knox Evans!" she shouted, "when were you going to plan on telling me about this!?" she picked up an Ak-47.

"When something like this happened," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Where in the living hell did you get this?!" she shouted gesturing her hand to all the guns and weapons she had no idea were in her house.

"Uncle Josh," he nervously laughed, "he thought that I should be ready to protect us seeing as well, you haven't tried dating in 9 years."

"You shut your mouth!" she shouted, "you are so lucky this is happening or your butt would be grounded big time mister!"

"Yes ma'am!" he saluted her with a growing smirk that he was trying his hardest to suppress.

Valora sighed in defeat, "so what are we going to be doing with this stuff?"

He handed her an M19, and looked her in the eyes, "only ever use this in a final resort. Do not. And I mean do not, ever shoot when there's only one of them. If there's one use this," he said handing her a hunting knife, "go for the brain, anywhere else is futile."

Then the doorbell rang. Valora was about to go and answer it but Steven stopped her. He put a finger to his lips, and went into her room to peek out the window. He came out and gave her the okay to answer it. Valora quickly went downstairs, and the doorbell rang again as she opened the door. She saw Skylar smiling really big, and Josh standing there with his usual hard expression that every military man had.

"C'mon in," she smiled stepping to the side, "you can put your stuff in the extra bedroom. Need any help carrying stuff?"

"Yeah, we got a couple of bags in the car," Josh said already heading up the stairs.

"I'll go get them," she smiled and headed out the door and to their Black Ford 2010 F150 and grabbing two heavy duffle bags out of the trunk.

Valora brought the bags inside and set them on the coffee table in the living room. Steven walked in and smiled at her. he rushed over and quickly unzipped the bag taking out a .22 Caliber Rifle with a scope and silencer. He smiled really big aiming it at the wall. Then Josh came down the stairs and Steven turned around and set the gun on the table. He walked up to Josh and they shared their 'broshake' and hugged each other.

"I see you brought the good stuff," Steven smiled really big as they both picked up a bag and carried to the kitchen table.

"Yup," Josh smiled, "they all got silencers on 'em cause I know that walkers can hear sound."

"Zombie movie expert I see," Steven smiled at him, and Josh friendly punched his shoulder causing them both to laugh.

Valora walked into the kitchen and stood on the opposite side of them. She looked at how into they were about talking about the guns and which ones had better aim and which ones did more damage. She smiled at the both of them, they were almost like kids in a candy store. Skylar broke the silence when she missed the last step on the stairs and came tumbling to the floor.

They all laughed and she rubbed her butt, "ouch... Oh! Valora! I brought the photo albums!" she squealed totally forgetting that she fell to the floor.

"I'll look at them with you in a minute okay?" she smiled at her and Skylar pouted. She looked to Steven, "what do we need to do, to make the house more secure?"

"Go and get the extra wood outta the basement, and bring 'em up here so we can board up the doors and windows."

"Kay," she nodded heading downstairs, and Josh was following behind her.

"I'll go get the wood, you grab the hammer and nails," Josh instructed her, and she listened.

Once we got the doors and windows boarded up it was already dark. Valora looked at the tv that her mother had given her as a hand me down, and she laughed at the cartoon that Skylar and her were watching while laughing at their baby pictures. Valora smiled sadly when she saw a picture of them when she was about 5 and she was 7. We were sitting on the fishing boat, and we had both caught a fish and our dad had nothing. They were all smiling really big, and their dad was pretending to be sad.

"That was an awesome day," she smiled looking back at it, and remembering the fire we had in out grandma's backyard and roasted marshmallows.

"It was an awesome week. Remember when dad lost his swim trunks to a beaver?" she laughed at the last part.

"Oh god! How could I forget! That beaver was so mad at him for messing with his pile of sticks!" she laughed wholeheartedly and clutched her sides when they began to ache.

Skylar did the same thing, and they laughed just like the old days. Valora was almost oblivious to the fact that there were flesh eating zombies outside the house. They laughed at almost every picture in the book recalling the hilarious moment when their dad did something just to make them laugh. Those were the good ol days.

The two of them had fallen asleep around midnight, Valora had fallen asleep on Skylar's shoulder and Skylar's head rested on Valora's.


	2. Sickness

It's been about a week now since the outbreak, and they haven't had to leave the house yet. They were all in the kitchen for breakfast when Skylar collapsed to the floor. Valora quickly rushed to her side and helped her stand up. She felt Skylar's forehead, and she was burning up. All color Valora's my face had drained, and she nodded to Josh to take her.

"She's got the fever," tears welled up in her eyes as she walked over to Steven. He wrapped his arms around her and she began to sob into his shirt. She let the tears flow out like waterfalls, and she felt the top of her head getting wet. Valora glanced up to see Steven trying his hardest not to cry, but the tears still fell.

After they had straightened themselves up they walked over to where Josh was holding Skylar's hand. Valroa put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to her with tears brimming his eyes. He put one of his hands on top of gers and he looked back down to Skylar squeezing Valora's hand tightly. Skylar opened her eyes looking around at the sad faces around her in a panic, and her breathing was coming in short breaths.

"H-hey," she breathed out with her eyes bugging out.

"Hey," Valroa sadly smiled at Skylar and she smiled. Valora felt the tears fighting their way back.

Skylar harshly coughed, and there was blood coming up, "t-thanks f-f-for b-being t-there for m-me. I-I l-love y-you a-," her face fell to the side and her eyes closed.

Now the tears were falling again when Josh began to shake her telling her to wake up. Steven turned Valora who was standing there with a hand over her mouth frozen, around and pulled her into a hug. She sobbed into Steven's already wet shirt and she felt the top of her head getting wet all over again. The two of them stood there and cried while Josh was shaking her and tears would fall from his face hitting Skylars colorless skin.

The three of them all sat in the living room all awaiting the tragic turn to happen to her. Valora was planning on ending it for her, but Josh didn't want her to have her sisters blood on her hands. Valora began to sob again when Josh told her that. The room had grown utterly silent and the only noise you could hear was their ragged breathing. Josh sat by Skylar the entire time, and then that fearful moment arrived. She began to twitch and her eyes moved under her eyelids.

Valora stood up and walked over to stand behind Josh who now had tears streaming down his face. She put a hand on his shoulder and Skylar's eyes opened fast. She looked around quickly and her eyes landed on Josh. She started to lean up to try and get a chunk out of his neck. He put the gun to her head and closed his eyes tightly before pulling the trigger.

"I love you," he said barely above a whisper as he hugged her corpse.

Tears streamed down Valora's face, and she violently wiped them away before going into the garage. Valora walked out with a shovel and walked to the back door. She began to take down enough boards to get through. She took her shovel and walked down the stairs to the ground. She jabbed the shovel in the ground, and began digging a hole. The more she dug the better she felt. Valora dug a hole big enough for Skylar to fit into and she threw the shovel to the side. She went back inside and straight to the basement to grab a couple of board to nail together to make a cross as her tombstone. She nailed the pieces together and walked outside again. She jabbed it into the ground. Before she went back up the stairs she fell to her knees and quietly cried.

After Valora had pulled herself together she slowly made her journey up the stairs. Once she got to the back door she looked to see Steven and Josh already carrying Skylar in what were the bedsheets to the bed in the extra bedroom. She fought back tears as she slowly made her journey back down the stairs again. Once they had reached the hole, Steven and Josh slowly set her in the hole. Valora took in a deep breath and grabbed ahold of the shovel but Steven stopped her.

"You've done enough," he sadly smiled at her, and she let go of the shovel.

Steven began to toss piles of dirt over the white fabric and only after a short while the fabric wasn't visible anymore. Once all of the dirt was there Steven stabbed the shovel into the ground and stood next to Valora and held her hand. Valora fought back tears as she stared at Skylar's tombstone.

"Skylar Iyannas," Josh started, "a wife, a sister, and an aunt. She was able to break through my brick wall and find a place in my heart. She was the light to my life, and she taught me to love in a different way. She was able to make me laugh so hard I almost pissed myself. But most of all, she made me love her more than life itself."

Valora sighed before she started, "she was an amazing sister. She was able to bring light to anyones day with just one smile. I can write a book about how much of an amazing person she is. She won't go unforgotten in my life, ever."

"I knew her as my aunt, but to me she was like a second mom. She took me to school when you weren't able to because of your job. She played video games with me and got all excited when she beat me. She was probably the best person there ever was," Steven said with tears starting to fall.

"Blessher, and let her rest in peace," Josh said while wiping away a tear that escaped with the back of his hand.

The three of them all slowly made their way into the house to where they could mourn their loss. Steven boarded up the back door while Valroa and Josh sadly made their ways to their separate rooms. Valora cried for what seemed like hours before passing out from exhaustion. She awoke the next morning with a pounding headache and she looked around to see darkness. Valora tiredly rubbed her eyes and headed for the bathroom to take a long bath. She went to turn the water on and she sat on the side of the tub. Valroa looked at herself in the mirror and saw how puffy and red her eyes were. Valora sighed and looked into the tub and saw the water steaming hot.

"I'm gonna miss you Skylar," Valora sighed dipping a hand into the water.

Once the water reached the point she wanted it to she shut it off, and stripped down. She dipped a foot in cringing at the tingling sensation in her foot and finally just went all the way in. Valora hugged her legs to her body, and her face was in the water all the way up to under her nose. She breathed in slowly, and jaggedly exhaled through her nose causing ripples in the water. She let go of her legs slowly and pushed herself under. Valora stayed under the water looking to the ceiling that was blurry due to the water. Valora felt the need for air, and she lingered a little longer. She pushed herself up and out of the water quickly gasping for air. Once she caught her breath she began to cry.

"She wouldn't like it if you did that to yourself," Valora cried, "she would want you to keep fighting."

Valora looked to her hands and put her face in them and cried. Valora began to shake causing ripples in the water to hit the sides, and occasionally splash out over the side of the bathtub. Valora sighed and finally decided that the bath wasn't helping like she thought it would and stepped out wrapping a towel around herself. She walked out of the bathroom and went into her closet and pulled on some black sweats and a black Colorado Buffalos hoodie. She slipped on some black slippers, and slowly made her way downstairs.

Steven was sitting at a stool, and he had made coffee, "hey," Valora said barely above a whisper in a raspy tone.

"Hey," his voice was raspy and she could hardly understand him.

Then Valora heard Josh's heavy footsteps on the stairs, and she looked back to see him totally out of it, "coffee?" Valora held up the pot and Josh nodded taking a seat next to Steven.

Valora passed him a mug of coffee, and he just looked into it with both of his hands wrapped around it. Valora looked into her own mug, almost as it there would be an answer as to why this had happened, but there was nothing. Valora sighed and took a long sip of the coffee, and she looked over to the two of them. They both looked more out of it than she had. Valora walked over to the both of them and stood behind them. She tapped both of their shoulders, and they turned around to meet her in a hug. They both didn't do anything for a bit, but then the two of them finally hugged her back. Valroa felt her hoodie getting wet from where the two of them were letting the tears fall.

Valora couldn't help but feel like crying as well. So, she let the tears fall and they all mourned Skylar. Skylar Iyannas, will never go unforgotten.


	3. Losses

This whole week has been quiet. Not very many words had been spoken and most of their days consisted of sitting in their rooms crying or sleeping. Josh is one of the strongest men that Valora's ever known, it took a lot to bring him to tears. Skylar's death had really hit him hard. Every time she had tried to talk to him he'd look at her with dull brown eyes full of sorrow. If she caught only just a glance of his eyes they would almost bring tears to her own eyes.

Steven, he was normally hyper and full of sarcasm, but now, all he did was look at his feet when Valora tried to talk to him. The only time she had seen Steven smile this week was when she fell up the stairs. That was the only time she had seen him smile that week. Valora knew that she's also not looking her best because she's cried herself to sleep every night since that horrifying day. Her eyes were puffy and red all the time, and her hair was starting to look greasy because of the water shutting off the day after Skylar's death. Valora had dark circles under her eyes from only getting a couple of hours of sleep because of the nightmares.

She made her way from my bedroom to the kitchen very slowly. Valora had herself wrapped in a blanket, and had her warmest clothes on because she's only felt cold. Valora looked in the living room to see Josh sitting on the couch. He was running a hand over the black leather and sighing. He then brought his hand to his face and wiped away a tear with his sleeve. He quickly stood up and turned my direction and froze when he saw Valora.

"Hey," she sadly smiled at him.

"Hey," he warmly smiled at me, "how are you feeling?"

"Like shit," she sniffled, "haven't gotten much sleep lately. Been having nightmares."

"Well, I decided not to dwell too much on the past," he sighed looking at the floor with a hand on his neck, "I had a dream about Skylar last night. She told me that she's still alive, in here," he said putting a finger to his heart.

Valora smiled up at him and rubbed her eyes, "let's make sure she stays alive then. Wouldn't wanna disappoint her."

"Nope. She gets pissed really easy," he softly laughed.

"Yeah, I would know," Valora half smiled feeling the sadness in the room suddenly leave, "you should go talk to Steven, and I'll go make us some coffee."

"I'll do that," he smiled at her and put a hand on her shoulder before heading up the stairs.

Valora walked into the kitchen and set her blanket on the table suddenly feeling a rush of warmth pass through her body. Valora looked into the cabinets and found the coffee. She opened the can and found that they were going to need to get into the other can already. She grabbed a couple water bottles from under the counter to put it in the pot, and I turned the stove on. The power wasn't working either so we had to use our gas stove. Once the water was in the pot she put it on the stove. Valora thought about what she wanted from the fridge before quickly opening and closing it to grab an apple, not wanting the coldness to leave the fridge.

Valora saw Steven making his way downstairs with Josh right behind him. Once she was in Steven's sight she was immediately tackled and she hit her butt really hard on the wood floor. Steven had his arms wrapped around her neck really tight. Valora awkwardly hugged him back.

"What's all this about?" she asked slightly laughing.

"I wanted to tell you, I love you, mom," he pulled away a little bit and pulling her back into the hug.

"Well, if you're gonna do this every time you're gonna tell me you love me, give me some warning," she smiled.

Steven laughed before pulling away and standing up. He held a hand out and helped me stand up. Valora smiled at him, and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you too, Steven," Valora said and then the screaming noise of the teapot caused her to jump.

Steven laughed and took the pot off the stove. She saw Josh grabbing three mugs out of the cabinets and set them down next to the coffeepot. Steven and Josh both finished making the coffee, and Steven handed Valora her special mug. She sat down at the kitchen table and slowly drank her coffee. Valor looked around the room and her eyes landed on a picture. She set her mug down and reached out to grab it off the counter. Valora looked to the picture to see Steven when he was 8 and he was smiling really big as a Giraffe was licking his face.

"What's that?" Steven asked leaning behind her seeing the picture, and he laughed, "that Giraffe messed up my hair that day. It would not stay down so you had to eventually buy me a hat so I would stop messing with it."

"Yeah," Valora laughed, "your hair looked terrible that day."

Valora set the photo back down and sighed taking another sip of her coffee.

* * *

"What are we gonna do?" she whispered loud enough for Steven and Josh to hear her. The moans and groans of walkers came from outside the store we were in. They had been low on food for the past week, and today was the day that they ran out.

"I'll distract them, and you two get out of here," Josh cringed at the pain in his arm.

Valora was about to protest but he stopped her, "I was bit. I might as well be of use."

It was then that they heard a crash of something hitting the floor in the back of the store. Valora immediately grabbed her knife from the holster on her thigh and stood up slowly. Valora slowly walked to the back, and she heard more movement in the back where the prescribed medicine was. Valora stealthily slid over the counter, and prepared herself for what was back there. She jumped around the corner only to face a gun.

"Woah, woah, woah," Valora said putting her hands up, "not bit."

The man slowly lowered his gun, "who are you?"

"Valora," she said putting her knife away.

"Morgan," he nodded to the boy behind him, "that's my son, Duane. You also trapped in here?"

"Yeah, we were getting ready to leave. Come with us and we'll get you out safely," Valora said heading to the counter and she hopped over rushing to Josh and Steven's side.

"Looks like we got two other people joining us," Valora smiled, and Morgan and Duane came up behind them.

"Morgan, Duane, meet Steven and Josh," Valora whispered to them.

They nodded to each other, and Josh spoke up,"I'll go out that door, and you guys go out the other one. They'll only be distracted for a minute so you gotta be quick."

They all nodded to him, and he stood up shakily. Valora went to help him but he shrugged her off. Josh took in a deep breath and ran for the doors. He ran out in the middle of the Walkers and they took their chance and got out there. Valora couldn't see where she was going due to the tears causing her vision to blur. She had to hold Stevens hand to know where she was going. Once they got far enough away they stopped to take a break.

Valora walked over behind a bush and puked. Steven walked over and held her hair back. When she finished up she wiped away small chunks that decided to stay and I flicked them away. She walked up to Morgan and Duane, and smiled at them.

"So what do you guys plan on doing?" Valora asked them.

"We don't got much back at our house," Morgan said putting a hand on his son's shoulder, "you okay if we come and stay with you? I mean we could pull our own weight."

Valora nodded, "it would be okay with us, right Steven?"

Steven nodded to her, "he know how to shoot?"

"No, but I was thinking of teaching him sometime, but I only have this one gun," he pulled the gun from the back of his pants to show us, "it's only got 5 bullets left though."

"Don't worry, we got plenty of guns at out house," Steven smiled, and they began walking down the street.

"I need to stop by our house first, grab a couple things, that alright?" Morgan asked me with his hand still on his son's shoulder.

"Not a problem," Valora smiled at him, and as they made their way down the street there was a man sitting on the stairs to a house. He was only wearing what looked to be a hospital robe and blue shorts. He had bandages on one side of him. He was waving in their direction, but they knew he couldn't see them. Valora looked ahead of them to see a walker making his way in the direction of the man.

"You two go behind and knock him out," Valora said to Duane and Steven, "use your shovel to knock him out, we don't know what kind of injury he has."

Duane and Steven nodded their heads making their way over there. Valora put a finger to her lips looking to Morgan. Valora pulled out her knife, and Morgan gave her a weird look thinking that a gun would do a better job. Valora quickly made her way up to the walker after Duane had smacked the man in the face with the shovel. Valora grabbed the walker by the front of the neck and stabbed it in the back of the skull. She fell with the walker, and quickly pulled her knife out of its head. She wiped her knife off on her pants, and then Morgan fired his gun to the walkers head.

"What was that for?" she asked him looking at him like he was crazy.

"Just to be sure," he said, and she nodded her head in slight understanding.

The two of them rushed over to where Duane and Steven were standing and Duane was shouting, "daddy! Daddy! I'll knock him dead!"

"No, no no," Morgan said, "I thought I heard him say something."

"He called him Carl after he hit him," Steven told him.

Valora and Morgan looked down to the man on the ground, "biters don't talk," Morgan said looking up to Valora who just shrugged her shoulder looking down to the man.

"What kinda wound is that?" Morgan asked pointing his gun at him.

"Wha-?" the man said lifting his head up slowly and then it fell back to the ground.

"C'mon, we can't just leave him here," Valora said putting one of the man's arms on my shoulder.

"Here," Morgan said putting his other arm on his shoulder, "Let's go to my house for the night. We'll stay there for the night."

Valora nodded and they quickly carried the man to his house. Once they were inside, Morgan told Steven and Duane to board up the windows. Morgan and Valora took him up the stairs to a room that looked vacant and unused. We laid him down on the bed, and Valora started to remove the bandages.

"This isn't a bite, it's a gunshot," Valora said looking at the dried up blood around the closed wound, "if it was a bite it'd be a little messier, and wouldn't have healed."

Morgan nodded but he said, "we should still tie him up, just in case," Valora nodded not disagreeing with him at all.

Once Morgan tied him up he left the room to get some rubbing alcohol, and he came back, "I'll clean him up," Valroa said taking the stuff he brought back.

Morgan nodded and left and bring back some bandages. She watched him as he headed down the stairs. Valroa poured some rubbing alcohol on the paper towel and cleaned the wound. She cut one of the ropes on his hand so she could clean the wound on the back. Valora quickly wrapped the bandages before deciding to cut him loose. She sighed and went to throw away the old bandages. Once she got back the man's eyes were wide open, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

"It's okay, calm down, you're safe here," Valora said putting a hand on his shoulder.

"W-where am I?" he asked after taking in a deep breath.

"I really don't know myself," Valora laughed, "but you're safe here no need to freak out."

He looked at her and then his body relaxed, "that's better. There's a change of clothes, come downstairs for dinner once you're done," she smiled at him before getting up and leaving.

When she walked down the stairs she smelt the food cooking. Valora walked into the dining room to see Steven and Duane sitting at the table. Morgan was standing at the window peeking out a small hole. Valora walked up next to him and he didn't notice her until she was next to him.

"What're you lookin at?" Valora asked.

"More of them out there than usual," he sighed, "that gunshot must've gotten them rallied up or something. They tend to get more active in the dark as well."

"I'm guessing you know this from experience?" Valora asked looking up to him.

"Yup," he sighed, "that walker almost took a chunk outta me."

They heard heavy footsteps on the stairs, and they looked back to see the man making his way down the stairs in jerky movements, "how ya feeling?" Valora asked walking up to him.

"Like shit," he breathed out.

"Let me help you to the table," Valora said taking hold of his arm and guiding him to the table.

He sat down and looked around to us all, "what's your name?" Valora asked sitting down next to Steven.

"Rick, Rick Grimes," he blurted out.

"I'm Valora," she smiled at him, "this is my son Steven. Over there is Morgan and his son Duane."

"Nice to meet you," Steven smiled at him.

"Did you kill that man out there?" Rick asked confused as the whether that was a dream or not.

"Man?" Morgan laughed, "that was a Walker. Dead rising from the grave. Do you know what's going on now, Rick?"

"Just woke up in a hospital today," he said looking up, "there were dead bodies outside, and there were a lot of them."

"You mean you've been out this whole time?" Valora asked him her eyes widening in shock.

"I guess," he shrugged, "didn't even know about this till now."

"Do you have anyone who knows you're still alive?" Valora asked putting a hand on his arm.

"My wife, and son," he breathed out, "they probably think I'm dead, but I'm gonna try and find them."

"We'll help you out," Valora said, "it must be terrible knowing that your wife and son are out there in a world like this."

"Thank you very much," he said nodding his head to her, "we could stop by the police station tomorrow. They've got guns and we could arm ourselves."

Then Morgan pitched in, "foods done," he said grabbing the can off the mini gas stove. He took a spoon and gave everyone one spoonful.

"Dig in," Steven said but Duane stopped him by saying, "daddy, what about our blessings?"

"How could I forget," Morgan smiled at his son, and they all joined hands as they each said their own blessings, and then they dug in.

Once they were all settled in and in bed, they heard a car alarm go off, "what was that?" IValora asked sitting up in her bed.

"Musta bumped into a car," Morgan said, "happened once before, went off after about a minute."

Rick stood up heading to the window, and that's when Morgan and Duane started shutting the lights off. Valora and Steven shut off the ones next to their makeshift beds, and they got up. They pulled back some of the covers on the window to get a look outside. Morgan was right, one of them had just bumped the car.

Duane swallowed hard before choking out, "she's here," tears began to brim his eyes, and he ran back to his bed.

Morgan slowly walked over to his son. He sat on the bed next to him and Duane cried into his dad's lap. Morgan grabbed a pillow for his son to cry in not wanting the walkers outside to hear them.

"We lost his mother to the fever not to long ago," he sighed, "she turned and I just wasn't able to shoot her."

Valroa walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "I lost my sister to the fever too."

Rick stood in front of the door looking out the peephole, and he jumped back. he looked down to the doorknob that was twisting slowly. He backed up and once he reached his bed he slowly sat down with his eyes on the door. The doorknob twisted for a while, and when the twisting stopped they all fell into a tired sleep.


	4. Different Paths

"First time killing one?" Valora smirked as she watched Rick dropping the mask to the ground and grabbing at his side.

"Just came outta the hospital, remember?" he groaned out and put his head down, "man that hurt more than I thought it would."

"Can only imagine," Morgan said helping him up and into the house before more walkers came.

"So what do you plan on doing now Rick?" Valora asked him asked him.

"Going to the police station, they got guns," he said, and he began to walk out the front door, "follow me and I'll take you to my house and then we can go."

"We need to stop at our house too," Valora said, and he nodded.

"We'll stop there first then," Rick said stopping to look back at us, "you lead the way."

Steven and Valora walked in front of him and they led the way. Their house wasn't too far away. It was just a couple blocks over, and at the end of the street. Once they reached their house, they went inside and collected their guns, and clothes that they would need. Then they were on their way to Rick's house.

Once they got inside Morgan looked around and asked, "how do you know they're still out there?"

"Look at the drawers, they're empty," Rick pointed to the drawers, and opened one showing that there was nothing inside.

"Anyone could have come in and helped themselves to those things," Morgan stated the truth to the man.

"Yeah, but look around, no family photos. You think just anyone would take those?" Rick said putting a hand on the dresser next to him.

"Family photos," Morgan laughed, "that's the first thing my wife went to get when we had to leave."

After Rick got the keys to his police car they left to go to the police station. It was about a 15 minute ride there, and Valora and Steven rode with Rick because Morgan's car was only able to seat two people. Once they got there they didn't have to deal with any walkers. The four of them walked into the building and followed Rick down the halls.

"Here's the showers," Rick said turning one of them on.

"Waters been shut off for at least a month now," Morgan said putting a hand under the water, "oh yeah! It's hot water!"

"Valora, in the room next to us is the woman's if you'd like to have your privacy," Rick said handing her a key to get in.

She smiled at him before taking the key, "thanks."

Valora walked down the hall to the door he had told her which was the woman's locker room, and she unlocked the door. It looked exactly the same except for the showers were on the opposite side. Valora went and turned one of the showers on and felt the water come out piping hot right away. She smiled before she quickly stripped down and stood under the hot water. Valora spun around under the water getting her whole body wet before washing her hair.

"Man this feels like heaven," Valora sighed pulling hair hair to the side and letting her whole back to be hit with the hot water.

Valora heard some shouts of excitement through the wall and she covered her mouth and laughed, "boys."

Valora shut the water off and walked over to the bench in the middle where she set her bag. She opened her bag to and pulled out the a pair of clothes that she had packed. Valora slipped on her undergarments and then looked through the random clothes she had stuffed in there and picked out a black long sleeve shirt with a little bird on the right breast. She grabbed some black capri pants, and slipped on her black converse. Valora walked over to the mirror and wiped away the steam on the mirror, and smiled at herself. She was looking better on the outside than she felt on the inside.

She took a deep breath and looked up at herself again, "stay strong now. You can break when you know you're safe."

Valora walked back to her bag and zipped it closed and swung it on her back. Valora walked over to the door, and opened the door to see Rick about to knock on it. She smiled up at him and he nodded to her. Rick led them to the room that had all the guns in it. Steven smiled really big taking hold of one of their rifles and aiming it into the open room.

"These are some nice guns," Steven commented before pretending to fire the gun, causing Valora to chuckle.

"Take this one," Rick said handing it to Morgan, "it's the least I can give you."

"Thanks," Morgan said taking the gun.

"Hey daddy, you think I can learn how to shoot?" Duane excitedly asked his dad.

Rick walked up to him, and squatted down so he was at his eye level, "one rule about guns, you aim to shoot. When you fire, you have to mean it."

Duane nodded and Morgan smiled putting a hand on his son's shoulder. After packing up the guns in the police station they headed outside to their designated vehicles. Rick put the guns in the back of his car and slammed it shut. He walked over to Morgan and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure about this?" Rick asked him.

"Yes, I'm sure. It'll only be a few days though," Morgan smiled at him, "by that time I'll have taught Duane how to shoot, and I won't be as rusty."

Rick looked to the ground then rushed over to the drivers side of the car and quickly walked back, "take this," Rick said handing him a walkie, "they don't have much battery, so every day at around dawn, I will talk over this and give you a heads up on what's going on."

"Thank you Rick," Morgan said putting a hand on his shoulder, "oh no," Morgan said looking to the fence where a policeman was walking up to, but he had turned.

"Leon Basset?" Rick said looking to him.

"You know him?" Morgan said.

"Not really, he was careless, and dumb, but can't leave him like this," Rick said feeling pity for him.

"Once you fire that gun we better get the hell outta here," Valora said opening the door in the back of the cop car.

"Ain't any of us gonna be around to find out what happens," Morgan said, "see you later Rick, Valora, Steven. I hope you find your wife."

Valora hopped in the back of the car and sat down before Steven got in and sat next to her. Valora and Steven heard the gun go off and Rick quickly got in the drivers seat. He put the keys in the ignition and they headed down the road. Morgan honked the horn to his car and Rick flashed his lights and we headed down the other direction. Valora watched Morgan and Duane's car disappear down the road and she sadly smiled before turning around to look up ahead.

"So where to?" Valora asked already knowing the answer.

"To Atlanta," he said as we headed down the road faster, "but I gotta take care of something first," he said turning to the right and stopping next to a public park.

He stepped out of the car, "I'll be right back," he said before he began to walk farther into the park grounds.

"You think we can trust him?" Valora's son asked watching the back of the Sheriff disappear into the park.

"He's the Sheriff, I think we can trust him," Valora slightly laughed at his question.

"He just left us in the back of a car," he said, "one that we can't get out of."

"Probably didn't think about it," Valora said looking up to her son and put a hand on his shoulder, "don't worry, he'll come-" Valora was cut off at the sound of a gunshot.

"Where did that come from?" Steven asked.

"The park," Valora said with slight worry for the sheriff, "I hope he's okay."

"He better not have gone off and shot himself there leaving us to find a way out," Steven said crossing his arms angrily.

"Calm down, I bet you he wasn't even the one who fired it," Valora pulled her hand away, and reached for her bag and grabbed a book out of it.

"You seriously brought that?" Steven smirked at the book she was holding.

"What!? It's a good book!" Valora shouted feeling offended, "there is nothing wrong with liking Lord of The Rings!"

"Whatever mom," he laughed.

Valora angrily blew out air and opened her book to where she had left off. Valora was snapped out of my book when she heard Rick slam his door shut. She looked in the mirror to see a shocked look on his face, and Valora sighed. This was going to be a long ride.

"You okay?" Valora asked through the bars that were in between them.

"Fine, just still in shock about this all happening," he stated gripping the steering wheel tighter.

"Want me to drive?" Valora asked and he nodded.

"That would be nice," he said opening his door, then opening hers so that she could get out.

He let Valora in the front and he sat in the passengers side, and told her the directions to Atlanta. Valora turned the keys in the ignition, and drove off into the street. She looked to see that they were going to have to make a gas stop soon, but she saw Rick was passed out in the passengers seat. She smiled at him, and thought how tired he must have been.

"Steven," Valora said barely above a whisper.

"Yeah," he looked up from whatever he was doing.

"We're gonna need to stop for gas in the next few minutes," Valora said, "we're starting to run low.

He nodded his head but realized she couldn't see him after a while, and said, "okay. Look there's a gas station right up ahead."

Valroa looked to her right and saw it, and she pulled over a little ways away, "you wanna come with me to get some?" Valora asked him.

"Better safe than sorry," Steven said.

Valora got out of the car and went to Stevens door and let him out, "I'll wake up Rick and tell him that we're going to get gas. You look in the back to see if there's anything in there that we can use to hold the gas in."

Steven nodded and Vlora knocked on Ricks window, he slowly opened his eyes as she opened the door, "hey," she smiled, "Steven and I are gonna go and get some gas. You wanna stay here?"

He was now more awake as he looked up at her, "I'll only get in the way since I'm kinda out of it right now."

She smiled at him, "okay, we'll only be about 10-15 minutes. Any longer than that you get out of here."

"I ain't leaving without you two," he glared at me.

Valroa sadly smiled at him, "if we don't get back, you leave. Understand?"

"No," he said, "now go get the gas."

Valora sighed in defeat closing the door, and Steven and her headed to the gas station. Once they got there they could read the huge sign saying 'NO GAS'. Valora smacked her forehead, and sighed. Steven pushed Valora to the ground. She looked under the car to see two little slippers, and a hand picking up what looked to be a teddy bear. Valroa covered her mouth, and immediately stood up. There was a little girl walking in the opposite direction of me.

"Come here little girl," Valora said holding a hand out for her, "It's okay, I'm here to help."

The little girl slowly turned around, and Valora gasped and covered her mouth feeling bile rising in the back of her throat. Valora rushed over behind a car and puked. She heard a gun go off, and looked up to see Steven facing his head away as his gun was pointed to the little girl who now laid on the ground unmoving. Valora slowly walked up to him and grabbed his arm and he quickly pulled her into a hug.

The two slowly made their way back to the car. When it was in vision Valora saw Rick stepping out of the car to meet them halfway. Once they got to the midway point he looked down at Valora and put a hand on my shoulder. She sadly smiled up at him, and he understood what happened without any words needed.

"I'll drive," he said, and Valora nodded to him as she got into the back seat and Steven sat in front with Rick to make sure he stays awake while he drove.


	5. Atlanta

Valora woke up to the sputtering sound of the cop car's engine as they pulled up to a small farm house. Rick stopped the car and stayed in his spot for a second before hitting his hand on the wheel. Valora looked to him, and saw him sigh before turning his head to Steven.

"We're all out," Rick said in an angry tone, "let's go see if they have any gas they could spare."

Steven nodded and they both got out of the opened the back door for Valora to get out. She stepped out of the car and put her hands in the air stretching out her tense muscles. Valora sighed as she moved her head to the side popping her neck. She walked to the back of the car where Rick was grabbing the container to hold the gas in. They slowly made their way up to the house, and once they got there Rick knocked on the door.

"Our car's outta gas," Rick stated loudly, "I was wondering if you folks had any that you could spare."

Silence.

Rick walked over to another window and looked inside. He stopped and covered his mouth, and took his hat off. He slicked his hair back that was already looking slightly greasy. He looked up to Steven and Valora and he shook his head. Valora sighed and looked out to see a truck in the yard.

"We could just take some from that truck," Valora pointed to it and Rick's mood brightened up.

They headed over to the car and RIck siphoned the fuel from the truck. It was about a quarter of the tank, enough to get them to Atlanta at least. They were on their way back to the cop car when Valora heard a noise behind them. She pulled her knife out of it's holster on her right thigh and headed in the direction of the noise. Steven was close behind her, and Valroa immediately put the knife away when she saw it was only a horse.

"Hey," Valora smiled slowly walking up to the horse, and it moved like it was unsure of being able to trust her, "it's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you," Valora walked up to the horse and it allowed her to pet it.

"What's the hold-" Rick began and then stopped when he saw the horse, "well I'll be damned," he said walking up to the horse with a smile on his face, "how in the hell did she manage to survive in a world like this?"

"No idea," Valora sighed, "but I ain't leaving her behind," she looked Rick in the eyes.

"By all means bring her along," Rick said, "I'll go look to see if they have a saddle."

Valora nodded to him and he went into the barn, and came back with reins and a saddle. She smiled at him and took the reins and opened the gate to get in. The horse jumped a little and she lowered herself a little. The horse calmed down a little bit, and Valroa slowly made her way over to the horse.

"You wanna come along with us?" Valora asked when she was only a foot or so away, "I'm pretty sure there are other horses where we're going."

Valora was now within touching distance of the horse, and the horse let her bring the reins to her, "that's a good girl," she petted her side and led her to where Rick and Steven were waiting for them. Once they got her all saddled up and ready to go they were on their way to Atlanta. Valroa was on the horse, and Steven and Rick were in the car. The horse was a little stubborn at first wanting to go really fast, but Valora finally got the horse to slow down to the speed of the cop car.

They were now in the city, and all they could see were cars that were crashed and not a single sign of life. Valora dismounted the horse when Rick flashed his lights to get her attention. He stepped out of the car with all of his things, and he told her all the gas was gone now. Valora sighed and took her things off the back of the horse and grabbed the reins as they slowly walked through the streets. The three of them were about to turn the corner, but then their mouths we left agape as they all stopped at the sight of more than a hundred walkers.

Valora smacked the horses butt to get out of here, and they ran only to run into more walkers. They were backed up against the back of a tank. Valora looked to the horse that was struggling at the walkers surrounding her, and she cringed at the sound of the horse hitting the ground with a scream of pain. She pulled out her gun and popped off rounds knocking down walkers one at a time. Her back was now up against the tank along with Steven and Rick. She pushed her son's shoulder down, and Steven pulled Rick down with them. The three of them crawled under the tank, and Rick looked back to the bag of guns he was carrying that was now in the middle of all of the walkers.

Valora looked in front of her, and then saw a hole in the bottom of the tank, "In there!" she shouted at Rick and Steven who stopped firing to get into the tank. Valora was the last one in and she closed it before a walker reached up trying to grab for her. Valora backed up and hit my head on a pipe, and she was panting heavily. Valora grabbed the back of her head, and said some not so nice words before looking up to see light. She got to her feet, and began to climb out. When she made eye contact with a walker she was down and in the tank in a flash. As she closed the lid the ringing noise of a gunshot rang in her ears, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Ouch," Valora groaned grabbing her pounding head again, "I'm gonna have a huge migraine now."

"Me too," Steven groaned.

The three of them sat there and took in their situation, it was either stay here and starve, or be eaten alive by the walkers outside, "how in the living hell did this happen?"

It went quiet, and then they heard the static of the radio, "hey, dumb asses in the tank," we heard someone say, "cozy in there?"

Valora laughed to herself being so grateful someone else had seen their stupidity, and she got up to the radio, "yeah, I guess you could call us that."

She heard him chuckle, "was wondering if you guys were alive in there."

"Can you see us right now?" she asked looking over to Rick and Steven who were watching her as she talked to the unknown man.

"Yeah, I can see you guys, and you're surrounded by walkers," he informed me.

Valora laughed, "no shit."

His tone was serious now, "you guys need to go now if you wanna get out alive."

"Yeah, didn't you just tell us that we were surrounded by walkers?" Valora asked making sure of what he said.

"Well, yeah, but most of them are distracted with the horse," he said, "there's one on the top of the tank still trying to, wait he's getting down. Now would be the best time to go if you wanna get out alive."

"I dropped my bag of guns, is it safe to get to it?" Rick took the walkie from Valora.

"No, don't risk it," the man said, "go now, I'll be in the alley 'bout fifty yards from the right side of the tank."

"What's your name?" Rick asked.

"Have you been listening?" he said, "go now."

Rick got up, and moved over to the army walker that he had shot. There was a grenade resting next to him, and he quickly slipped that into his pocket before moving over and opening the hatch. Steven and Valora followed after Rick only using their weapons with silencers. Once they reached the alley an asian man held up his hands and shouted, "not dead! Not dead!"

They followed him into the alley after Steven closed the gate we saw Rick and the man already heading up the ladder. Valora was next and Steven was falling behind a little. Valora began to climb, and then she looked down to see him slightly struggling. There was a walker grabbing onto his foot, and it was causing him to lose his footing slightly.

"Move over!" Valora shouted pulling her gun out, and Steven moved over and she shot the walker straight in the face.

The two of them climbed faster taking a break on a small platform to catch their breath, and they looked to see the Asian man and Rick doing the same "nice moves there Clint Eastwood, you the new sheriff in town, come riding in to save the day?"

"Wasn't my intention," Rick panted.

"Yeah, and you're little group of good doers too? Yeah, whatever, yeehaw," the man said waving a hand out, "you're all still dumb asses."

"Rick, Valora, and Steven. Thanks," Rick said pointing to each of us and then held out a hand.

The man looked to his hand then shook it, "Glenn. You're welcome."

They looked down to see that s walker climbing the ladder, "oh no," Glenn breathed out, and we walked over to the ladder going all the way up without any stops, "on the bright side, it'll be the fall that kills us."

Valora smirked and he looked at her, "I'm a glass half-full kinda guy," he said before heading up the ladder.

Once they reached the top they were running on the top of the building, and hopped over a ledge to another building. Rick spoke up, "you the one who barricaded the alley?"

"Somebody did," he said as he kept walking, "I guess when the city got overrun, whoever did it was thinking not many geeks would get through."

Once they got to an opening Glenn tossed his bag in, "back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for us?" Valora asked and we tossed out bags down as well.

"Can't just leave a pretty lady alone with two guys," he smirked before descending down the ladder.

"Ew," I heard Steven say before I made my way down the ladder.

We got in the building and then we were heading down the stairs and Glenn was talking into his walkie again, "I'm back, and got some guests, plus four geeks in the alley."

When we reached the bottom of the staircase Glenn and Rick froze. There were two walkers heading towards us. I was about ready to grab my knife, but then two people came running out in hockey gear, and baseball bats. They began to beat the geeks senseless as we ran past them into the safety of the building. When they were inside Rick was thrown into something and a woman with a gun aimed it at his face.

"We're all dead now because of you," she glared at him.

"Nice to meet you too," Valora mumbled and that caused everyone to snicker.

Everyone was telling who she presume is Andrea to back off, and then a man came up behind her, "Andrea I said back the hell off."

She took a deep breath and the man spoke again, "well, pull the trigger," she took in another deep breath then pulled the gun away.

"We're dead, all of us," she said with tears welling up in her eyes, "because of you all," she then glared at us.

"I don't understand," Rick said then all of us were dragged by our arms through the hallways of the building.

"Look we came into the city to scavenge for supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving," the man said pushing Rick hard on the shoulder, "you know what the key to surviving is? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing. Not shooting up round like its the O.K. corral."

The man dragging me by my arm, "every geek from miles around heard you popping off rounds."

Then Andrea spoke up, "you just rang the dinner bell."

The three of them looked to the doors at the front of the store to see walkers lined up trying to break through the first set of glass. Valora was shocked to see some of the walkers had giant rocks and they were hitting the glass with them. It seemed like the situation they were brought into was worse than theirs in the tank. Valora sighed and grabbed the bridge of her nose, and looked up to Rick.

"This is why I told you to take one of my guns,"she sighed, and he looked at her like she was accusing him of this happening, which it was mostly, "our guns have silencers on them so they don't make much noise."

He looked to the ground then he was about to speak when we heard another gun being fired off, "shit is that Dixon?" Andrea cried out.

"The hell is that maniac doing!" the darker skinned woman said.

"Come on let's go," the man dragging Rick told everyone, and they followed. They got to the stairs, and about every five steps for Valora there would be another gunshot. The man who was in front banged the door open and stormed out to see the man standing on the ledge firing his gun.

"Hey Dixon, are you crazy?!" he shouted at him, and the man just laughed and fired again.

The man turned around and laughed, "y'all better be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh?" he said jumping down from where he was standing, "only common sense."

"Hey man you wasting bullets we ain't even got," the man who dragged me said jumping from the metal platform we were standing on, "and you bringing even more of them down on out ass! Man, just chill."

Dixon was laughing and walking up to the man, "hey, bad enough I got this taco-bender on my ass all day. Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day."

"'That'll be the day'? Man you got something you wanna tell me?" the man asked him.

"T-dog," the other man warned.

"No, I wanna head what he wanna say," T-dog said crossing his arms over his chest. Valora just put a hand to her face knowing that this wasn't going to end well.

"I'll tell ya 'the day' Mr. Yo. That'll be the day I take orders from a nigger," the man laughed only to get a punch thrown at him by T-dog.

Rick tried to step in but he only got punched back. Merle began to beat T-dog senseless, and then he had T-dog pinned and he pulled out a gun. Valora decided to step up, and she pulled out her gun, and aimed it at his head.

"You know I don't want to have to shoot you," she said cocking the gun in her trembling hands, "I don't want anyone else's blood on my hands."

The man only let out a soft chuckle, and she tightened her grip on the gun when he stood up, "ain't gonna disobey a pretty lady," he said putting his gun back.

I saw Rick's hand grab the man's shoulder, and hit him hard in the face with the back of Dixon's gun. Rick was on top of him, and he was fiddling with the handcuffs on his belt. Before the man could react Rick had cuffed him to the pipe. Once he had come back to his senses he started to flip out.

"Who the hell are you man?" he grunted.

"Officer friendly," Valora smirked at Ricks remark, "look here Merle, things are different now. There is no more niggers. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. There's the dark meat, and the white meat. That's us, and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart."

"Screw you, man," Merle looked at him, and then away.

"I can see you make a habit of missing the point," Rick said to him.

"Yeah, well man, screw you twice," Merle said and that snapped something inside Rick.

He shoved the gun against Merle's head and said, "ought to be polite to a man with the gun. Only common sense"

"You wouldn't," Merle blew out, "you're a cop."

"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son," Rick said pulling the gun away, "anybody that gets in the way of that's gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that."

Then Rick started patting him down, and then pulled out something from his pocket. He looked to the man's nose and then flicked it, "got some on your nose."

"What're you gonna do? Arrest me?" he laughed, and Valora couldn't help but smirk.

Rick threw it over the side of the building and that really pissed him off, "hey man that's my stuff!" he shouted and struggled to get away from the cuffs, "if I get lose you better pray! Yeah you hear me you pig!? You hear me you filthy pig!?"

"Yeah your voice carries," Rick said and Valora let out a little laugh.

Valora saw Rick grab his hand to stop it from shaking and a man walked up next to him, "you're not Atlanta P.D. are you? Where you from?"

"Up the road a ways," Rick said.

"You're friends too?" he asked and Rick nodded.

"Well from up the road a ways, welcome to the big city," the man said patting him on the back.


	6. Reuniting

After Rick and the man walked back he asked, "how's the signal?"

"Like Dixon's brain," he said pointing the walkie towards the man, "weak."

Merle lifted his hand and flipped him the bird. Valora couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. Merle shot her a glare, and then looked back to T-dog.

"Keep trying," the man said.

"Why?" Andrea said, "not like there's anything they can do."

"Okay Ms. Negative," Valora grumbled, "first it's like we're all dead, and now they can't do anything. You're a cup full of sunshine now ain't ya?"

Valroa heard Merle chuckle, and then Andrea shot her a glare, "you should know your place. Now we don't know if we can trust you. I could shoot you right now if I wanted to."

Valora stood up and patted her legs before going up and standing in front of her, "next time you try and shoot someone," she smirked, "make sure the safety's off."

Valora walked over and looked over the edge to see the growing number of walkers coming up to the building. She heard a low long whistle come from Merle. She could feel the glare coming from Andrea burning in the back of my skull as she stood there. Valroa pretended not to notice, and then Steven came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's try and not make enemies here," he smiled at her, "is that okay?"

Valora slowly nodded then turned around as Rick stepped up and looked to everyone, "looks like we're on our own for finding a way out."

"Good luck with that," Merle said, "these streets in this part of town ain't safe from what I hear. Ain't that right sugar tits?" Merle said looking up at her.

Valora looked his way and shook her head looking back to Rick, "hey, honey bunch," she heard Merle say again, "lets say you get me out of these cuffs, go off somewhere, bump some uglies. Gonna die anyways."

Valora looked at him, and made eye contact for a second, "I'd rather."

"Rug muncher. Figured much," he said moving his hand seeing if it'd come loose.

"So the street's ain't safe," Rick said looking back over the edge, "what about under the streets? Like the sewers?"

Then Jacqui spoke up and began to talk about the buildings structure and how there would be a way to the sewers from in the building. Valora didn't understand anything of what she was talking about, and she shook her head trying to come up with what they were talking about.

Rick turned around, and looked to everyone, "Valora I want you to stay here with T-dog and Merle and watch out for them. Everyone else, back into the building."

Valora huffed and sat down on the metal stairs as she watched everyone make their way into the building. She put her head in her right hand and rubbed the side of her head with her left hand. She closed her eyes and looked over to see T-dog trying with the radio again. Valora walked over to him, and put her bag down and sat in front of him. Valora unzipped her pack and pulled out a first-aid kit.

She opened a small bottle of rubbing alcohol and put it on some gauze. She held it up to his forehead where there was a deep cut. He looked at her for a second, and nodded for her to go on when she stopped. When she finished cleaning his wound she grabbed some bandages and put everything back in her pack when she finished.

"What you say sugar tits, come on over here and fix me up?" Valora heard Merle almost beg.

She looked over to him and sighed. She unstrapped her knife, and gun and set them next to T-dog, "don't want him using me as hostage now do we?" she smiled at T-dog as she grabbed the first-aid kit.

"Now where are you hurt?" Valora asked sitting down on pipe to the left of him.

"My mouth hurts a bit, mind kissing it for me?" he laughed looking up at me.

"Your ass is about to hurt worse than those lips of yours if you don't tell me where you're actually hurt," Valora smiled at him, and she saw him tense.

"Screw you, just trying to have some fun," Merle grumbled.

"You seemed to be having some fun before," Valora stood up and went to her pack.

"What do ya mean?" he asked squinting his eyes at her.

"I mean when you were shooting them walkers high of a something," Valroa mumbled rummaging through her pack trying to make room for the first aid kit.

"You're stupid," he said looking away.

"Not really,"Valora sighed sitting back after she zipped her pack closed, "my son got addicted when he found some when we were on a supply run. He stopped when he ran out. That shit does bad stuff to your brain."

"You can shut your mouth before I shut it for you," Merle inhumanly growled at her.

"I'm pissing myself," Valora pretended to be scared before laughing and picking up her pack.

Valora heard Merle laugh, "I like you," he chuckled, "what's your name?"

"Valora," she smiled at him over her shoulder, "means brave. Probably the reason why I'm standin up to you."

"Merle, if you hadn't heard it before," he smirked at her.

Valora went and sat back down on the metal stairs, and sighed. Valora remembered that she had something that she was so excited to open but never got the chance. Valora pulled her bag off her back and reached in her bag. Once she found what she was looking for she grinned before pulling the pack of cigarettes out.

"Want one?" she asked looking up to the both of them.

T-dog nodded his head, and Valora looked to see Merle eyeing the pack. Valora ripped off the plastic casing and walked over to T-dog and handed him one. She lit his with the lighter that she had in her pocket. He nodded to her before she walked over to Merle. Valora looked down to him, and he didn't even acknowledge her.

"Want one or not?" Valora asked holding out the pack with one sticking out to him.

His gaze looked up to her from whatever he was looking at and he reached for the cigarette. Valora saw his eyes move to her knife, but she moved out of the way before he could grab it. Valora shook her head with her eyes closed and she began to walk away.

Valora sighed sitting back down on the metal stairs, "I was being nice, Merle."

He laughed, "whatever, I just wanna get outta these damn cuffs."

Valora laughed and looked over to T-dog still trying to get someone's attention on the walkie, "Hello? Anybody Read? I'm hoping to hear anybody's voice, 'cause I'm really getting sick and tired of hearing mine."

"That makes two of us," Valora heard Merle say, "why don't ya knock that crap off boy. You're givin me a headache."

"Why don't you pull your head outta your ass, then maybe your headache will go away," T-dog snapped back at him.

"Ouch," Valora laughed blowing out some smoke.

"How about you get me outta these damn cuffs, and I'll be all 'Sammy Sunshine' for you," Merle snickered, "you see that hacksaw over there? Why don't you go and get it for me, hmm? C'mon man, get me outta these things"

"Why? So you can beat my ass again? Call me nigger some more?" T-dog asked him breathing in some more of the cigarette.

"Come on, man. It's nothing personal, just that you're kind and my kind ain't meant to mix," Merle stated like it was normal, "that's all. Don't mean we can't... work together."

"I guess you want me to go over there and get that rifle too, so you can shoot that cop when he gets back," T-dog said looking from the gun, and back to Merle.

"Not when I'm up here," Valora said breathing in the last of her cigarette, and tossed it to the ground as she breathed out, "ain't nobody dying today."

Merle laughed, "so who was that blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy with ya?" he asked looking up at her, "he your lover?"

"Ew, and no he isn't, he's my son," Valora said looking up to the sky, "nicest boy you'll ever meet."

Merle laughed, "nice nowadays don't really help you to survive."

"Yeah, that may be true," Valora sighed closing her eyes and looking to Merle and making eye contact, "but as long as he stays nice, the people around him don't lose their humanity."

Merle's eyes lingered on hers for a while longer before he looked away and scoffed, "humanity? Psh, whatever."

All their eyes looked to the door as they saw everyone else piling through, and they all walked to the ledge, "so any way out?" Valora asked looking to Rick.

"Not yet, but I think if we can get over to those cars, and got in one we'll all be home free," Rick said pointing to the car that was all the way on the other side of all the hungry walkers, "they always leave spare keys in the car."

"And how in the hell do you propose we go about that?" Valora asked thinking of how ridiculous his plan was.

"Follow me, Valora you still stay here, I need you to keep an eye on them still," Rick told Valora again as he headed into the doors.

She huffed and sat back down, "I ain't one for babysitting."

Valora heard Merle chuckle and she looked over to him, "I ain't one to be babysat, looks like we're both screwed over."

"Yup," she sighed looking back to the few clouds in the sky.

Valora realized that she had fallen asleep because when she heard the door bang she was quickly to her feet. Valora had her hand on the knife and was ready to pull it out until she saw the rest of the gang except for Rick and Glenn come rushing to the ledge. Valora followed them and looked over the ledge. Her mouth dropped when she caught sight of them.

"You gotta be shitting me that they're actually doing that," Valora said grabbing the bridge of her nose and sat back down.

"Nope, they're actually out there," Andrea sighed looking back to her, "sorry about being a bitch earlier."

"No I should be sorry," Valora looked up to her and half smiled, "I shoulda known my place."

Andrea smiled at her, but then looked to the sky when she felt something hit her face. It was now pouring, and that was a terrible sign. Valora was to her feet and rushed to look over the ledge to see the walkers taking notice to Glenn and Rick. The two of them just kept walking slow and showed no signs of getting their asses in gear.

Valora took in a deep breath before shouting, "get your asses in gear, or they're gonna get you!"

All the walkers stopped to look back to Valora's outburst, and she realized, "everyone shout! It'll distract the walkers!"

After she said that everyone on the roof was shouting while Glenn and Rick were going slightly faster. Valora saw them reach the fence, and the man from before shouted to everyone to get moving. Everyone grabbed their stuff and was to their feet and heading to the door. Valora was last one in besides T-dog and Merle. She looked back to see T-dog trip and drop something and Merle started freaking out.

Valora ran back to them to see that what T-dog had dropped was the key to the handcuffs. Valora quickly grabbed her gun out and pointed it at Merle's hand, "woah, no need to shoot me," Merle held his hand up. Valora grabbed his hand and held it as far away from the chain as she could before shooting the handcuffs with her gun.

"You can thank me later," Valora said pulling him to his feet before the three of them headed into the building and down the stairs. When they reached the bottom floor walkers had finished breaking through the last layer of glass. Merle and Valora followed T-dog and they saw everyone in the car awaiting their arrival. Once they were in the car everyone was shouted to the man to step on it. Walkers reached for the car as they had shut it. Valora slid down the side and was panting heavily.

"Shit," she panted, "that was scary."

Everyone looked uneasy at the sight of Merle with one cuff still on his hand. Valora took in a three deep breaths before looking around to see the Glenn wasn't present. Valroa was about to speak up, but she stopped herself when she saw out of the windshield that Glenn had his arm thrown out of a nice sports car, and was shouting at the top of his lungs. Valora smirked and then scooted over to sit behind the passengers seat.

"I never got your name," Valora said to the man driving.

He glanced back at her before looking back to the road, "you can call me Morales. Nice to meet you."

Valora smiled to him, "Valora, but you probably already knew that."

Valora went and scooted over to Steven and rested her head on his shoulder. Valora was glad that they were going to be able to feel safe after everything that had happened. It took them about fifteen minutes to get where their camp was. They opened the back and everyone got out except for Rick, Morales, Steven, and Valora. Morales smiled back at everyone.

"Come. Meet the group," Morales said before getting out of the truck.

Valora took in a deep breath before she was pulled to her feet by Steven and practically dragged out of the car. Once they got out Valora looked over to see Rick had stopped and he had a hand on his hip and a hand raised to his face. She looked past him to see a little boy no older than 12 with eyes wider than an owls. The boy ran up to him, and Rick scooped him up before walking over to a woman with shock written all over her face when she hugged him. Valora saw her make eye contact with a man and then her look of shock turned into a glare.

Valora smiled at the three of them, and Steven and her slowly made their way to the group, Morales smiled at us, "guys meet Valora, and Steven."

"Hey," Valora smiled waving to everyone, and Steven did the same but he just nodded.

Everyone gave Valora uneasy looks, and she looked down to herself. Well no wonder they were giving her weird looks. Valora was wearing a gun and a knife, both strapped to her thighs so you could see them. Her light jeans had blood splatters on them. Valora rubbed the back of my neck and nervously smiled at everyone.

"I hope y'all don't think I'm evil or anything," she said, "I'm the exact opposite."

"Yeah, she's good," Valora heard Andrea speak up for her.

"Don't worry, the only threat she might bring is her smart ass comments," Jacqui said standing next to Valora and putting a hand on her shoulder, "let's go and get you washed up. We'll get your clothes washed."

"Thanks," Valora whispered to the two standing next to me.

"What you got in the bag there son?" Valora head a man ask Steven.

Steven smiled really big and walked over to the hood of Glenns sports car. He unzipped the bag, and a shocked expression covered the man's serious one. He pulled out a gun from the bag, and smiled.

"Where'd you get the nice collection of guns?" the man asked looking to Steven with a smirk.

"My uncle," Steven choked out holding back the tears that threatened to fall, "he died yesterday saving my mom from a walker."

Valora choked on her breath and her heart stopped at his words, "he was a good man," Valora smiled at Steven as he looked up at her.

"Shane," the man said sticking his hand out to Steven.

"Steven," he smiled shaking the man's hand.

Valora smiled at the two of them, and she knew that they had found a safe haven. Valora was being dragged to where all of the girls were standing, and everyone gathered their things before they all headed down to the water. Valora took my bag with me not wanting anyone to search through it. Once they got to the water, Valora saw all of the women stripping down to their bra and underwear. Valora did the same, but she strapped her knife back onto her bare leg.

"This feels so good," Valora heard Jacqui sigh as she sat down in the water.

"No kidding," Valora sighed before dipping her head under the water, "thanks for making everyone not so uneasy about me back there. I owe you guys one."

"It was no problem," Andrea said from the shore as she was just now getting in, "just sticking up for the new girl."

"Would of done the same if it were either of you," Valora smiled at the two of them and they nodded to her and then they finished washing off.

Once they were done they dried off and changed into another outfit. Valora was wearing some black tights, and a plain white v-neck t-shirt. Valora wore her same combat boots which belonged to her dad/. He had abnormally small feet for a man. He said it'd run in the family, and unfortunately for Steven, he got the small feet gene. Valora smirked to herself before throwing her bag over her shoulder.

"What're you laughing about?" Andrea asked her.

Valora chuckled, "these are my dad's shoes. Just thinking about how he had abnormally small feet and how my son has them."

Valora heard Jacqui and Andrea chuckle. The three of them headed up the hill and back to the camp. Once they got there Valora made her way around getting to know everyone's names. Valora sat down at the fire and looked into it. She set her bag by her feet and reached in grabbing a cigarette and lit it.

Valora felt someone's hand on my shoulder and she glanced up to see Merle standing behind her, "I'd like my smoke now. If that okay with you sugar tits."

"That my nickname now?" Valora chuckled grabbing a cigarette out of her bag, and handing it to him.

"What? You don't like it?" he acted hurt when he took the cigarette, "I thought it really fit ya."

Valora chuckled, "whatever," she handed him the lighter and he lit his cigarette, and handed it back to her.


	7. Stories

After Valora finished her smoke with Merle she walked over to a woman who was sitting and folding clothes. Valora went and sat across from her, and smiled at her. She looked up to Valora and warmly smiled at her not knowing what to say to her.

"Anything I can help with?" Valora asked her.

"Oh, it's your first day at camp, you should be given some time to get to know everyone," she said putting the shirt she was folding in a pile on her lap.

"It's okay, I actually don't mind," Valora said smiling at her.

She smiled at Valora and went back to folding the shirt, "you could help me fold these clothes."

"No problem," Valora smiled taking a pair of pants out of the basket.

The two of them didn't talk to each other for a while until the other woman spoke up, "I can't believe I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Carol," she smiled holding a hand out for Valora.

"Valora," she smiled shaking Carol's hand, "you probably already knew that though."

She nodded her head and went back to folding someones pants, "what did you do before this?"

Valora laughed, "used to be a cashier at a video game store. Man I could name every game in our store in alphabetical order," Valora smiled bigger when Carol laughed, "best job ever."

"That must have been fun, to have a job that you loved," Carol smiled at her as she set her hands on her lap with the shirt unfolded, "I was a stay at home mom. My husband thought that I should stay home and do all of the laundry, dishes, ext. Said it wasn't a man's work to do those things."

Valora let out a chuckle, "really?"

"Really," Carol smiled up to her with her eyebrows raised at how stupid she thought it was as well, "but I got to stay at home and watch over our daughter. She's the sweetest little thing."

"She the little blonde girl over there?" Valora asked pointing to a small blonde girl playing around with a few other kids that looked to be around her age.

"Yup," Carol looked over and smiled at her daughter, "she couldn't even harm a fly is she tried."

Valora warmly smiled at Carol, "hope she's able to stay like that in this godforsaken world."

"Me too," Carol sadly smiled in Valora's direction.

Valora went back to folding the clothes, and she heard Carol cough harshly and Valora looked up, "you okay?"

"Fine," Carol said holding a hand up, "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Valora asked moving a little closer to the woman.

"Yes," she smiled at Valora, "tonight's story night."

"What's that?" Valora asked sitting as she was before.

"Well, since not everyone has gotten to know each other yet, we planned on telling what our lives were like before this happened," Carol said setting a shirt on a pile on the table, "we were going to before, but nobody felt up to it."

"I see," Valora said looking to her feet, "I'm sure that'll be good. Get to know everyone a little better."

"You don't have to share your story if you don't want to," Carol sadly smiled at Valora, "I can tell from the way you reacted that you're still unsure of trusting us."

"It's not that it's just," Valora began but she shook her head, " never mind."

"Most of the men here are trustworthy," Carol smiled at her, "if you can befriend Merle I think you can befriend anyone here."

Valora laughed, "probably right, either that or everyone will be to scared to come near me."

"That too," Carol laughed.

After the two of them finished with the clothes it was beginning to get dark, and everyone was slowly making their way over to the fire for dinner. Valora looked over to see Steven discussing something with Rick. She smiled his way and waved at him. Steven returned the favor with just a wave. Steven told Rick something before they both headed to the fire. Valora sat down next to Andrea and Steven sat down to her left.

Lori finally spoke up breaking the silence, "so who wants to go first?"

Valora looked around to see nobody jumping up and down to tell them their story, until she heard a loud exaggerated sigh coming from Glenn, "just finished college, couple months before this. I was aiming to work on cars, but nobody would hire me," he sighed again, "so I was stuck being a pizza delivery guy. Who woulda thought that delivering pizza could save us?"

Everyone laughed at his ending, and then Valora heard Andrea speak up, "Dale called Amy and I to see if we wanted to go on vacation with him because our dad wouldn't go with him because of work. We both agreed, and on our way to Atlanta we were attacked by a few walkers. Then we came across your group, and now we're here."

It was Valora's turn now, might as well tell them her story, "fifteen," she sighed, "that's when I got pregnant with this boy," Valora pointed her thumb in his direction, "was an accident, but I'm glad it did. Without this boy waking me up in the morning and making my coffee, I'd never get outta bed."

The only word that playing in Valora's mind like a broken record when everyone laughed was, "liar, liar, liar, liar."

Steven put a hand on her shoulder, and she smiled to him and elbowed him in the side. He did the same to her before starting to tell his story, "just your average seventeen year old boy you know."

"What's average about having deadly weapons under your bed?" Valora asked followed by a slight chuckle.

"Besides that," he said holding a hand up, "had a job at McDonald's working minimum wage. Not much else except it was only two months before I was going to graduate before this happened. Had a girl that I had a crush on you know, feelings that every normal seventeen year old boy had. Then this happened. I knew everything there was to know about zombies, and how to take them out. Without me, she would be one of them."

Valora elbowed her son in the ribs, getting a laugh out of everyone, "well aren't you sweet," Valora smiled up to her son.

Everyone went silent until Rick spoke up from his spot next to Steven, "woke up in a hospital, nobody's around. I get outta my room, and there's a disgusting smell in the hallway. I kept walking only to find the body of a nurse completely eaten on the floor. I turned around only to find blood on the floor and walls. Wires were hanging from the ceiling, and I come across a door that says 'DON'T OPEN, DEAD INSIDE'. Course I wasn't gonna open the damn thing, but something inside told me to get outta there. When I got to the first floor I opened the door, and there was nothing but dead bodies outside. Wrapped in white sheets, in rows. The smell was gut wrenching. I headed home thinking that Lori and Carl would be there, but they weren't. I went outside and sat on the stairs, and I thought that I saw a man but it was a walker," Rick laughed, "Steven and Duane greeted me with a shovel, and then they took me in and took care of me. Morgan and Duane stayed behind, but Valora and Steven came with. After that we went into the city, got caught up in a tank, and Glenn came to the rescue."

Valora smiled over to Glenn who was fidgeting slightly in his seat, "I never got to properly thank you Glenn," Rick said to him, "thank you."

"Yeah, thanks Glenn," Valora smiled at him, "wouldn't be here without ya."

"You guys are still dumb asses," Glenn smirked getting a good laugh out of everyone, "but you're welcome."

"So, T-dog. What'd you do before this?" Andrea asked him.

"Worked at McDonald's," he smirked in Steven's direction, "must have worked the day shift cause I never saw you."

"Probably," Steven laughed.

"Been in and on off relationship with Jacqui," he sadly smiled at the woman on the other side of the fire, "probably shouldn't a said that."

Merle was sitting over by his tent. Valora saw him sharpening his knife, and then he jabbed the table with it. He stormed into his tent with it rustling around slightly, and came out of the tent stomping over to the table. He grabbed his knife with one violent grab, and took off into the woods. Valora looked back to the group to see nobody noticing the Dixon's disappearance. Valora looked back to the place where he took off and went into the forest, and went to look back at the fire.

Jacqui had just started filling us in on what she did for a living. Valora didn't understand a word she had said, but she at least pretended to be interested nonetheless. After she told her story Morales told the group how he had worked as a truck driver, and that his wife was a teacher. She was willing to teach the kids everything that she knew. Valora was glad that the kids were going to be able to grow up still getting somewhat of an education.

After dinner was over, everyone headed to their own tents. Steven and Valora weren't planning on sleeping outdoors when they got here so they hadn't packed a tent. Rick had the tent that his wife and son had been sleeping in, so it was just Valora and Steven left without a tent. Steven told Valora that Morales had said the two of them could sleep in the truck that they had come back in. He also gave them a couple blankets because from what he said it gets pretty cold here at night.

Valora thanked him, and told Steven she'd be in the truck with him in a minute. Valora headed over to the RV and looked up to see the old man from the fire sitting in a lawn chair looking out over the small lake at the bottom of the hill. The man looked down to her for a split second, and she nodded to the ladder for permission to climb up there with him and he nodded for her to come up. Valora made her way over to the ladder and when she got up there his shoes were by the ladder.

"Common courtesy to those below us," she heard Dale say when she looked at the shoes.

Valora sat down and began pulling her dad's combat boots off, and went and sat on the roof next to his lawn chair. He looked down at Valora, and she looked back to the dirt road they took to get here.

"What brings you up here?" he asked

Valora turned around and sadly smiled at him, "just wanted some quiet time. This seemed to be the only place to get some."

"I see," he said rubbing his beard, "if you don't mind me asking, but what you said back there, wasn't true, right?"

Valora sighed and looked back to the dirt road and hugged her knees to my body, "yup."

"Let me take a swing at this. You felt that you could come to talk to me about it because I'm old, and probably more wise than everyone else in the group combined?" he asked leaning forward more, "or am I just getting cocky about myself?"

Valora slightly chuckled hugging her knees closer to herself, "you got it right. You just seemed like someone I could open up to without criticism. My story isn't the first worst though."

"Who's is first?" he asked raising a brow.

"Rick's," Valora sighed, "he's been to hell and back if you ask me."

He nodded his head, "you know I didn't get to share my story," he said, "you guys only got the part when Andrea and Amy came into it."

"Mind sharing yours?" Valora asked looking back to him.

"Long as you share yours in return," he said holding a hand out for her to shake it, "we gotta deal?"

Valora thought about it for a second then grabbed his hand, "deal."

He nodded his head before he began with a sigh, "Irma, the woman of my life. She was the most beautiful woman you'd meet," he smiled, "she was funny, I loved her more than anything in the world, even though she told me to quit smoking. I'd do anything to make that woman happy."

"You smoked?" Valora asked not believing him.

"Pack a day," he sighed, "I was a wreck before I met her. Couple days before I called Andrea and Amy to go on vacation, Irma caught the fever."

Valoroas eyebrows raised and her eyes widened, "the-"

"Yup," he sadly smiled as he fiddled with his hands, "told their parents about having to shoot her because she tried to eat me. They didn't live near Andrea and Amy so they told me to get them to go on 'vacation' with me. Told me to keep them safe."

Tears were now falling from Valoras eyes, "oh my god," she covered her mouth, "do you know if their parents are okay?"

"Haven't been able to contact them for at least a month," he sighed, "not since the power went out. All I know is that they were okay the last time I had called them."

"There's still some hope that they're alive," Valora said looking back out to the forest, "do they know yet?"

"No, not yet," he sighed putting his head in his hands.

"Do you plan on telling them?" Valora asked putting a hand on his forearm.

"I don't think I can," his voice was shaky, "if I do then they'll hate me for the rest of their lives."

Valora held back another wave of tears, and choked out, "they'll have to know sooner or later."

"I know," he said and he took a deep breath before looking up, "so what's your story?"

"I was actually thirteen when I had Steven," she breathed out, and took a jagged breath in, going back to sitting at the front of the RV "I came home late from a friend's birthday party. My step-dad was drunk, and my mom wasn't home. My step-dad got violent when he was drunk, and I guess I was the only thing he could take his anger out on."

Valora felt his hand on her shoulder, and his grip tightened, "I couldn't do anything about him doing that to me. All I could do was scream and cry, but that only encouraged him more. When he finished he told me to clean up and act like it never happened," I pulled away the bandanna I had wrapped around my wrist to reveal deep scars, "I cut myself for weeks. I told my mom about my dad, and she paid the price by getting beaten that night," Valora felt hot tears pouring down her face, "I couldn't do anything about him hurting her."

Valora threw my head into my hands, and felt Dale pull her into a hug. Va;pra took in three deep breaths like my psychiatrist had told her to do, and slowly began to calm down. Three more, and her sobs were slowing subsiding.

Once Dale pulled his hand away Valora rubbed her eyes before continuing, "my mom took me to the hospital to get me to have an abortion. I hated abortion with a passion, I'd hate myself even more knowing that I killed a baby. My sister who was a year younger stood up for me, and I was able to keep the baby. My step-dad went to jail, and eight months later a healthy baby was born," Valora smiled remembering Steven when he was in her arms for the first time, "I vowed to make sure that he was raised right, and he was lucky to be born with my personality. My whole family supported me. Even my sister's boyfriend at the time did. I didn't know that the both of them would end up getting married in the future though."

Dale smiled at her, "I can just look at your boy and tell he's a good kid."

Valora smiled back at him, "as Steven was growing up he slowly learned the truth, and when he was fifteen he wanted to go and see his dad," her smiled dropped, "it took two police officers to pull him away from the glass when he was yelling at him. I didn't go in there because I couldn't bear to see that man's face again. Steven took care of me, and he had good grades. I couldn't be more prouder of him."

Valora felt Dale pull his hand away, and she continued, "everything was really the same up until this shit happened. My sister and brother-in-law came to our house and we stayed together to survive, " Valora felt tears threatening to fall again, "my sister being the one to catch everything easily caught the flu, and turned right in our living room. Josh was the one to shoot her. After three weeks had passed we had to go on a supply run, and that's when Josh got bit when he pulled a walker off of me."

Valora looked to see Dale's shocked expression, and she went on, "he was in the military, so of course he thought it was his job to protect all of those around him. Even if it meant that his life would be taken. That's where we met Morgan and Duane. He was a sweet little boy, only a couple years younger than Steven."

"No kidding," Dale scoffed.

Valora chuckled, "and that's when Duane gave Rick a warm welcome with a shovel to the mom had turned and Morgan wasn't able to shoot her, so they stayed behind so Morgan to take care of it and teach Duane how to shoot. Rick has a walkie to contact him every morning at dawn so I'm pretty sure he's going to tell them to steer clear of the city. Rick took us to the police station, and god the showers were amazing," she sighed remembering the hot water, "I almost want to go back just to drown in the shower. After that we went into the city, and here we are."

"Now I think your story takes first place," Dale said sadly smiling as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Valora slightly laughed, "I guess so, but Rick's is probably third place."

"Yup," Dale sighed leaning back in his lawn chair, "so why'd you actually come up here?"

"You reminded me of my dad, my real one," Valora sighed telling the truth, "he died when I was eleven. You reminded me of him, so I thought maybe I could open up to you without being asked twenty questions."

He put a hand on her shoulder, "looks like you came to the right guy."

Valora smiled at him, "thanks a lot," she said as she stood up getting ready to go to the truck where Steven was probably already sleeping in..

Valora was stopped when Dale turned her around and pulled her into a hug, "come to me anytime you wanna talk, okay?"

Valora hugged him back, with tears brimming in her eyes, "I'll make sure you're the first one I come to with my problems."

He pulled away from the hug, "a beautiful young girl like you shouldn't be crying as much. She should smile more, it brightens everyone's day, even if the world has gone to shit."

Valora stifled a laugh, "I'll make sure not to cry as much," she said putting her combat boots back on and heading down the ladder, "see you Dale," she waved up to him.

He nodded to Valora, and sat back down in his chair. Once she got in the back of the truck she looked to see Steven already asleep, with a blanket and pillow laying on the other side. Valora smiled down at him, and crouched down to his side. She brushed away the strands of hair that fell in front of his face and planted a kiss on his forehead before going over to her side, and falling asleep. First night in a while that she'd be sleeping without a nightmare.


	8. Great First Impression

"No way," Valora said looking to Rick, "you can't be serious about going back."

"Yeah, Rick," Glenn said, "we got all the guns we need with what Steven and Valora have."

"What happens when we use up all of the bullets for them?" Rick said looking back to the map on the hood of the car, "we need to have spare just in case."

"I think this whole thing is fucking stupid," Valora said putting her hand to the bridge of her nose and resting her butt on the car.

"We are running low on supplies again though," Valora heard someone say, she looked up to see that Lori was standing there.

"Great," Valora mumbled, "just another reason for us to go and get ourselves killed."

"Well," Rick said putting a hand to the back of his neck and one to his hip, "we're going to the town tomorrow."

"Whatever you say," Valora shrugged, "I'm going along though."

"The more the merrier," she heard Glenn grumble.

Valora pushed off the car and headed over to where Andrea was standing, and Andrea was glaring at her, "how in the hell did you get them to let you go along?"

Valora shrugged and scratched her stomach, "just said I was going. Wasn't that hard."

Andrea moved her weight to one leg, and her mouth opened, "I've had to practically kiss their ass for them to get them to let me go along."

"I guess its cause I know how to use a gun, and I can use my knife too instead," Valora said looking to the fire pit, "maybe it's cause I can be quiet when I kill too, and not scream my fucking head off."

After Valora said that she was given and even uglier glare from Andrea, "we should of just left you guys in the tank."

Valora laughed, "it was thanks to Rick's idea that I'm pretty sure you guys got outta there in the first place."

Andrea walked away with anger in her steps, and Valora couldn't help but smirk at how easy it was to piss her off. Valora heard a whistle come from behind her and she looked to see Merle laughing, "really pissed her off this time, didn't ya sugar tits?"

"It's too damn easy," Valora smirked at him.

"Got any more smokes?" he asked Valora eyeing her up and down licking his bottom lip.

"I'll give you all of my smokes if you quit looking at me like that," Valora said squinting her eyes at him.

"Consider it done," he laughed, and Valora began to walk back to the truck where her backpack was. Merle was following closely behind. Valora opened the back of the truck and hopped in. She grabbed her bag and hopped back to the ground next to where Merle was standing.

"Trying to quit the drugs?" Valora asked looking up to him.

"Hey," he said looking down at her with a hint of anger in them, "that better not get around camp. Sides, like the smokes better."

Valora smirked, "half the camp already knows already," Valora saw him glare back at her, "ain't gonna tell a soul, cross my heart," she made an x over her heart with her fingers and he laughed.

"So where's those smokes of yours?" he asked eyeing her backpack.

Valora opened the front pocket and pulled out a pack and handed it to him, "I want you to take it easy on the smokes," she said looking up to Merle, "I'll give you a new pack when you're done with that one, and it better last you till at least tomorrow."

He smirked down at her, "can't make any promises."

"Then neither can I," Valora smirked up to him, and he glared down at her.

He sighed in defeat, "you remind me of my mother, always looking at me until I gave in."

"Well, I am one so I see how it's possible you think of me like that," Valora said with a smirk earning a whole-hearted chuckle from Merle.

He began to walk away, and he called over his shoulder, "that's the only promise I'll make in my life. Just so you know!"

Valora couldn't help but chuckle at him, and she zipped her bag closed and hopped back in the truck. Valora hid her bag under the passenger seat so that Merle wouldn't be able to find it if he came looking for it. Valora sighed when she hopped out of the truck, and headed over to where Carol was folding clothes again.

"Hey," Valora smiled down at her, and began to fold a shirt.

"Hey Valora," Carol smiled up at her, "get a good night's sleep?"

"Hardly," Valora sighed, "so damn cold out here. Especially when you're sleeping directly on metal."

Valora heard Carol chuckle, "go ask T-dog for a blanket. He seems to be the blanket king here. I swear he never runs out."

Valora laughed at her comment, "I'll make sure to ask him," she folded a shirt, "how's Sophia doing?"

"Great," she smiled at her, "I just wish there were more kids for her to play with."

"She seems to be having fun nonetheless," Valora smiled in the direction of where Sophia and Morales' little girl were having a tea party with the few dolls they had to play with.

"Yeah," Carol sighed looking to her daughter, "I just wish her father wasn't so, cruel towards her."

Valora looked to see the hate in her eyes as she talked about her husband, "he an abusive man?"

Carol looked to Valora in shock, "h-how did you?"

"My friend 'fell' a lot when she was in a relationship with her boyfriend who was always drunk," Valora sighed looking to her, "she'd always get bruised and wouldn't tell anyone about it. I'd always notice because she only ever wore short sleeved tees when she was around me, and that showed the bruises."

"I see," Carol said looking to the shirt in her hands, "will you not, tell anyone? I don't know how they would react."

"As long as things don't get out of hand," Valora smiled at her, "I know that we pretty much just met yesterday, but send Sophia over to me if something bad is happening. I'll make sure you and your daughter will be okay."

Carol smiled up to her and nodded, "I'll make sure to send her to you."

Valora smiled at her and went back to folding clothes with her. The only noise between there were the noises others were making around camp. To Valora it was weirdly peaceful, and it strangely felt like home to her. That is until Carl's scream pierced the air. Valora was to her feet in an instant and saw Lori rush to her son who came running out of the forest with Morales' son.

"Walker!" he screamed burying his head in her hair.

Valora was in the forest and heading the way he had come with Rick and Shane close behind. Valora could hear some grunting noises that weren't too far up ahead, and she went in the direction of the plants that were broken by Carl and Morales' kid on their way back. Valora walked through a bush to see a deer on the ground, but when she moved closer she gagged at the sight of a walker feeding on the deer.

Valora pulled out her knife and went up behind the walker and quickly stabbed it in the back of the head, "that's disgusting," she said covering her nose with the back of her wrist.

"No kidding," Valora heard Rick mumble as he tried not to breath through his nose at how bad the stench had been.

Valora heard the bushes behind her move, and she quickly turned around. Valora readied her knife, but lowered it when she saw a man with a crossbow walk through. His eyes met hers for only a second, and his gaze went to the deer. His eyes squinted as his eyebrows furrowed together.

"Damnit!" the man shouted as he stomped to the side of the deer, "I've been tracking that deer for two hours! And this fucker goes and eats it! Just my fucking luck!" the man shouted pulling the bolt from the deer and wiping the blood on his pants.

He looked over to the walker, and glared at it before smashing his foot into its skull. The walkers brain splattered all around, and Valora couldn't help but gag at the horrid smell it gave off. The man kept kicking at it before grumbling some colorful words and heading back to camp leaving the deer behind. Valora looked to see everyone making the same expression she was, disgusted.

"Well, that was Daryl," Shane said breaking the silence, "he's the one that gets us our food most of the time."

"Did a great job of leaving a nice impression of himself didn't he?" Valora joked holding back her urge to puke.

"Let's get back," Rick said, and they nodded to him and walked back to camp.

"Was it anything bad?" was the first thing Valora heard come from Lori as they walked through the bushes, "Daryl didn't say anything when he got back, just stormed off to his tent.".

"Just one walker," Rick said, "got ahold of the deer Daryl here was tracking."

Valora looked over to see Daryl going into the tent that Merle stays in. Valora raised an eyebrow because nobody ever said anything about Merle having any siblings. Valora shook it off and walked back over to Carol who was sitting with Sophia by the still unfolded clothes. Valora went and sat down and smiled to Carol.

"Just one walker," Valora smiled, "nothing serious. Except for that walker pis-, I mean making Daryl fairly angry," Valora corrected herself remembering that there was a twelve year-old here.

"Were you the hero who saved the camp?" Valora heard Sophia ask, and Valora looked to Carol and she mouthed to me 'just go with it'.

"Yep," Valora smiled really big at her, "I took the walker down like that," she snapped her fingers, and Sophia laughed.

"I'm Sophia," she smiled at Valora, "what's your name?"

"Sophia's a pretty name. Fit for a princess," she smiled at her, "I would be your loyal servant Valora, how may I serve the princess?"

Sophia laughed at her and smiled, "how about a pony ride?" she asked with tons of enthusiasm.

Valora looked to Carol and she raised an eyebrow at her, and Valora got down on one knee with her arms behind her before she got a weird look from Carol, "where shall thy princesses destination be?"

Sophia got on her back and she pointed to where Carl was under the RV with Morales' kids. Valora told her to wrap her arms around her neck, and she did. Valora stood up and rushed over to where Carl was sitting with his friends by the RV. Sophia was on her back and she was laughing the entire way. Once Valora got to Carl she kneeled down and Sophia hopped off. She stood in front of her and Valora put her head down.

"Awaiting orders milady," Valora said and she laughed.

"You are free to go," she smiled at me.

"I'm grateful at your kindness milady," Valora smiled at her, and stood up to go back to Carol.

Once she sat down Carol smiled at her, "you didn't have to do that."

"I love kids," Valora smiled, "feels like it's been forever since Steven asked me to do that. Except for I was his trusty steed and he was the superhero."

Carol laughed at that, and looked over to Sophia, "I'm sure she's going to take a liking to you."

Valora smiled, "sure hope so."

The two of them went back to folding clothes quietly, and it was yet again peaceful. Valora was thinking about what it was like before all of this happened. When the biggest thing they'd worry about was paying a bill, or making sure that they kept their job. Nowadays the only thing you worried about was whether you'd live to see another day or not. That scared the shit out of her.

Valora's thoughts were interrupted, when someone was standing at her side blocking the sun. Valora looked up to see Merle standing there with Daryl standing behind him. Valora covered her eyes with her hand because where he was standing the sun was right behind his head and still shone in her eyes.

"Yes Merle?" Valora asked going back to folding clothes.

"Where'd you put 'em?" he asked.

"Whatever is it are you talking about?" Valora asked with my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You know what I mean. Where'd you put the smokes? I couldn't find 'em when I went back to the truck,"Merle said crossing his arms over his chest.

"I thought you'd promise not to go through that pack so fast," Valora sighed, and he laughed.

"Oh, this ain't for me. It's for my stupid brother who was too much of a pussy to come and ask you for a pack," Merle laughed pulling his brother up next to him, and she saw the annoyed look on his brothers face.

Valora looked between the two of them and sighed getting up, "I'll get you your pack, but you gotta stay away from the truck or you don't get anymore, period."

"Sure thing sugar tits," Merle laughed smirking at her as she walked away.

"Quit it with the nickname, it's getting annoying," Valora mumbled so that he couldn't hear her.

Once Valora got the pack she headed back to where she told the two of them to wait. Once Valora got back one of the two brothers were missing. Valora raised an eyebrow and walked up to the only brother there.

"Where'd your brother go?" Valora asked.

"Don't know," Merle shrugged, "but I'll give him those."

"You'd give them to him my ass," Valora chuckled at the little game he was trying to play, "I'll give 'em to him when he gets back."

When Valora said that she got an angry glare from Merle, and he stormed off. Valora sighed as she slipped the cigarettes into her pocket, and sat down. Valora looked to see Carol with shock written all over her face.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Do what?" Valora raised an eyebrow at her.

"Get Merle not to yell at you for not doing what he says?" she asked, "some of the men around camp could use your help when it comes to him."

"He told me earlier I remind him of his mom," Valora said barely above a whisper in case anyone was listening, "could have a soft spot for his mom."

She nodded in understanding, "probably right. Still you should help out when Merle get's a little outta control."

"I'll do that," Valora said before folding the last shirt, "well we're all done with landry. What do we do after this?"

"Relax a little I guess," she shrugged her shoulders sitting back in her lawn chair, "you helping me gets this done faster. Normally I'm working on this until dinner."

Valora nodded her head and looked to Carol, "could go down to the lake, and wash up."

"That'd be a good idea," she smiled at her and they grabbed a change of clothes before heading down to the lake. Valora asked Steven to keep watch for anybody in camp who'd wanna sneak a peek. He gladly said he would and that he would make sure nobody got to.

After their wash up it was time for dinner. Valora's hair was still wet when they got to the fire, and it was bothering her a little. Valora sat down and a small plate was handed to her, and the plate was only half full. Valora shrugged and began to eat. Whatever it was tasted way better then the beans they had last night.

"What is this?" Valora asked, "tastes good."

"Squirrel," Valora heard someone say, and she looked up to see Daryl looking up at her as he chewed on his portion of dinner.

Valora shrugged her shoulders and took another bite, "still tastes better then the beans we had last night. Sorry Lori."

Lori shook her head, "none taken, I agree with you about this tasting better."

"Your welcome for catching the damn critters," Daryl muttered quietly but she heard him.

Valora stood up and still holding my plate she went and sat down next to him. Valora reached into my back pocket, and pulled out the pack of smokes. She tossed the cigarettes to him landing in his lap, and he looked at it before raising an eyebrow at her.

"Consider it a thank you gift for the squirrel," Valora said taking another bite of the cooked squirrel he caught.


	9. Addictions

After dinner everyone went to their designated areas. Steven headed to the car after Valora had told him that she'd be up with Dale again Valora made her way over to the RV and climbed up the ladder and took her shoes off. She walked over and sat down next to Dale. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her cigarettes.

Valora looked up to see Dale eyeing the pack in her hands, and she pulled one out and held it up to him, "I don't think it'll hurt if you have just one."

He eyed the cigarette before slowly grabbing it and holding it to her so she could light it. Once she pulled her lighter out and lit the cigarette it was to his mouth. He took a long deep breath in, and then slowly breathed out. He smiled and looked out to the road.

"Can't remember what it was like smoking before this happened," he sighed twisting the cigarette in his fingers, "now I know how much I missed it."

Valora smirked, "definitely a bad habit, but I'd rather die of lung cancer then turning into one of them."

"No kidding," he scoffed, "that'd be the easy way out."

Valora smiled and pulled out a cigarette to smoke. She looked at the cigarette before she lit it, and put it to her lips. Valora did the same thing Dale did and took a long deep breath, and slowly breathed out. Enjoying the quiet moment, she looked up to see the stars. Right above her was the big dipper. Valora smiled remembering her mom who was always telling her about the different constellations in the sky.

"There's the big dipper," Valora smiled nodding her head up as she looked over and saw Dale in the corner of her eye looking up to the sky.

Dale smiled, "been keeping watch for so long around this time, never crossed my mind to look at the stars," he sighed, "they're actually really calming."

"My mom always used to tell me that," Valora smiled and looked to her toes which were wriggling around, "'stars can't shine without darkness.' My mom always told me that I was the star to the darkness in her life."

"She seems like a kind woman," he smiled at her.

"She was more than kind," Valora smiled and made her legs so they were dangling on the side of the RV, "she was, I don't know how to put it, but she was more than kind to everyone. It's almost like if she made eye contact with you, she'd know your pain, and understand what's wrong."

"I get what you're saying," he leaned forward, and breathed in the last of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground, "Irma was the same way."

Valora smiled and looked up to him, "she must've been an amazing person."

"You have no idea," he smiled leaning his back in in the lawnchair. He stretched his arms and let a yawn loose. Valora smiled at him, and looked back to her feet which were swinging back and forth.

"If you're tired I can take over," I said, "I don't mind. I'll probably not be able to fall asleep again."

Dale looked to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "you don't have to."

"I want to," Valora smiled at him, "least I can do for you."

Dale warmly smiled at her before getting up and stretching, "just yell if you see anything. I'll be down there," he said pointing down to the RV.

Valora smiled, "I'll make sure to yell for you."

Dale smiled and turned around heading over to the ladder. He kicked his shoes down before turning around to go down. Valora stood up, and stretched her legs before sitting down in the lawn chair Once she sat down realized how comfortable it was. 'No wonder he had this thing up here,' she thought.

Valora looked back up to the sky and looked for other constellations. The only one she was able to find was the big dipper for some reason. Could have been because she's on edge about everything. Valora sighed and closed her eyes for a few seconds before she heard a noise. Valor jumped to her feet, and turned around to see a head popping up from the ladder. It was Daryl.

He looked up to her with his eyes squinted, "Dale could've told me someone else was keeping watch," he said pulling himself the rest of the way up, and he looked to her shoes by the ladder, "the hell are your shoes doing over here?"

"Common courtesy to those below," Valora smiled sitting back down in the chair, "that's what Dale told me when I went up here last night."

Daryl huffed, and stood up. He walked over to the left side of the RV and quietly sat down. He pulled out his knife and began cleaning under his fingernail. Valora raised an eyebrow at him wondering why he didn't just go back to his tent, and shook her head sitting back down.

Valora looked back up to the sky enjoying the silence until Daryl spoke up, "never caught your name."

"Valora," she said looking to him from the corner of her eye.

"The hell kinda name is that?" he scoffed while still cleaning under his nails.

"Don't see Daryl being a common name," Valora raised an eyebrow in his direction.

He grunted and looked over to her. Valora was still looking at him from the corner of her eye, but when he looked to her Valora looked away.

"So why'd you stick around when I could've kept watch?" Valora asked adjusting herself in the seat and glanced over to him.

Daryl looked over his shoulder before looking back to his fingernails which were still dirty, "can't sleep so why the hell would I go back to bed?"

Valora sighed, she wasn't going to get a clear answer from him, "you know you'd be terrible at giving manicures."

Daryl looked to her and snickered, "damn, that's too bad."

Valora chuckled looking back to the sky and he asked, "why do you keep lookin to the damn sky?"

"Helps me think," Valora said closing her eyes, then opened them as she looked over her shoulder to him.

Daryl was looking up to the sky, "how's it help you think?" his eyebrows furrowed together as he was still looking at the sky.

Valora shrugged and looked back to the sky, "don't know. My mom talked to me about every constellation when I was a kid though. I guess I get it from her"

Valora heard him move around behind her, and she peered over her shoulder and saw him grabbing something from his pocket. Valora didn't get a look at what it was but he shoved it back into his pocket after messing with it for a second. He got up and walked over to her, and leaned down so was just inches away from her fave

"Got a lighter?" he asked holding out a cigarette from the pack she given him earlier.

Valora smirked as she reached into her pocket, and handed it to him and he nodded to her in thanks, "did you really ask Merle to get a pack of those for you?"

"Nah," he shrugged standing straight and he light his cigarette, "he went through that whole damn pack in minutes."

"Damn," Valora said looking to the forest filled with god knows what. Valora felt a him tap her shoulder and she looked back to see him holding out the lighter to her. Valora took it from him, and she could swear their hands had brushed together. Not on accident, almost like he meant for that to happen. Daryl walked back over to where he was sitting.

"Why don't you come sit over here?" Valora asked and he turned his head her way, and looked back to the cigarette in his hand.

"Ain't gonna talk about my feelings or anything," he said gruffly standing up and walking over next to her. Daryl plopped right down paying no mind to those sleeping below.

"Wasn't gonna make you," Valora sighed pulling one leg up to rest her head on, "you going on the supply run tomorrow?"

"Why wouldn't I?" he asked as if her question was the stupidest one in the world, "the new guy, along with you and Glenn," he laughed, "someone's gonna need to watch over your asses."

It was now Valora's turn to laugh, "my brother-in-law was in the military. Don't think he didn't teach me a few things while we were cooped up in my house."

Daryl looked up to her, "still, those two could get their asses handed to them."

Valora shook her head, "Rick makes plans before heading into things, same with Glenn. He wants to get in and out, everything quick and easy so nobody gets hurt. I can see why Glenn was a one man crew before he met up with you guys."

Valora didn't get a response from him so she kept up, "Rick can be a dumbass though. He was shooting up the streets when we were surrounded by hundreds of walkers there," Valora smirked at what Glenn had called them when they had first met, "once we got to where Glenn was one of the first things he said to us was that we were dumbasses for shooting up the streets."

That got a chuckle from Daryl, "Steven and I were smart enough not to use our guns without silencers though. Rick, not so much."

"See, they do need someone like me to go along," Daryl said pulling the cigarette away from his face and he held it at his knee, "someone who doesn't shoot up the streets, knows how to get in and out quietly."

"I still think it's stupid that all we're going back for a bag of fucking guns," Valora sighed putting her head to the back of the lawn chair "I mean Steven has a bag of guns and an arsenal he was willing to share with everyone. Why can't we just use those, and not go back to where there were more than a hundred walkers wanting to eat us."

"Don't know," he shrugged, "I think its pretty stupid as well."

"Finally someone that make's some fucking sense in this camp," Valora sighed and he looked over and smirked at her before putting his cigarette back to his mouth.

"So what's your story?" he asked leaning back onto his hands and looked to the dirt road below them.

"Why do you ask?" Valora relaxed her head on her knee raising an eyebrow at him.

"Just starting a conversation," he shrugged his shoulders slightly, "seems to be the only question to ask someone when you first meet 'em."

Valora thought about it for a second and nodded her head, "makes sense."

"So you gonna talk 'bout it?" he asked looking back to her.

"Why the hell not," Valora sighed thinking that she might as well get the truth out now instead of later, "Dale already knows the truth."

"The hell you mean by truth?" he asked looking back to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Didn't exactly tell everyone about how my little pride and joy happened to come into this world," Valora nervously laughed rubbing the back of her neck.

He raised his eyebrow a little more before turning to look back to the road, "keep talking."

Valora took in a deep breath before starting, "about a couple of years after my real dad had passed away, my mom remarried. He was an asshole who always came home drunk, and he treated my mom like shit whenever he got drunk. She always told me that she only married him for the money, but a part of my didn't want her to only marry a man for his money. That part of me never spoke up though. I was thirteen, I came home late from my best friends birthday party. My step-dad was fucking drunk, and he was pissed. I guess I was the only thing he wanted to take it out on," Valora shakily sighed remembering the horrifying memories of that night, and she looked over to see Daryl's shoulders had tensed up, "after he was done 'teaching me a lesson' he told me to clean up and act like nothing happened. Said if I told my mom he would really hurt her. Worse than he had before, and I didn't want anything to happen to my mom."

Valora looked to see Daryl's fists clenched to where you could see the whites of his knuckles, "but I couldn't keep something like that from her though, so I went and told her. First she didn't want to believe me, but after I had started to cry she slowly began to believe it. She pressed charges on him, and he was sent to jail. After he was in jail my mom took me to the hospital to have to baby removed," Valora trailed off as she pulled up her other leg, and hugged them close to her body, "I hated abortion with a passion, and I still do, so I had told her I didn't want to give him up, but she kept telling the nurse to go on and remove it. It was then that my sister stood up for me and convinced my mother to let me keep the baby. It was a painful eight months full of insults, and being shunned for being the only pregnant thirteen year-old at my school, but they were well worth it. I had my family at my side, and even my sisters boyfriend Josh. Can't believe the two of them were together all throughout high school and got married."

"Shit," Daryl mumbled, "that bastard die or is he still rotting in jail like he should be?"

"Either would be fine with me," Valora sighed pulling her legs closer to herself if possible, "I know that's terrible to say, but its truly how I feel about him."

"Don't blame you," he said grabbing his now finished cigarette and tossing it to the ground, "I'd feel the same way if I were in your position."

Valora softly smiled at Daryl's strangely comforting words, "so what's your story? Pretty sure you didn't make it far in cosmetology school"

That earned a chuckle from him, "worked at a gun store when the world went to shit. Merle was dealing with addiction at the time. He's one stupid son of a bitch," Daryl said putting resting his hand on his knee that was propped up, "he's been getting worse since he was removed from the military. That happening to him made something inside of him snap."

Valora nodded her head in understanding, "same thing happened to Steven. Something inside him snapped when his aunt, died from the flu a week after the world went to shit," Valora swallowed the growing lump in her throat before continuing, "I didn't even know about it until I walked in his room when he was smoking Marijuana. How in the hell does he manage to find Marijuana, but not a can of fucking coffee?"

Daryl laughed, "same with Merle when the world went to shit. Couldn't find a damn thing when we went to hunt in the woods, but when we went on supply runs he'd find a shitload of drugs."

Valora nodded her head, "I took it from my son," she sighed, "he was so pissed at me. I told him I'd rather him smoking cigarettes than smoking that shit. Does stuff to your brain."

"Why do you think Merle's dumb as shit at the moment?" Daryl chuckled, "he was pretty smart before he did this. Graduated college."

"That's hard to believe," Valora looked to see him biting his nail and looking to his feet.

"You haven't seen how he can act when he gets way out of it," Daryl said biting harder onto his nail, "he's killed people, that hadn't turned yet."

Valora's stomach turned when he said that, and she released the breath she hadn't realized that she was holding and spoke out, "not his fault though it's the drugs fault."

"He blames himself sometimes," Daryl said barely above a whisper, "when he's calmed down after sleeping off the drugs he tells me about how he regrets that day."

"When I was giving him the cigarettes, I asked him if he was trying to quit the drugs," Valora sighed and leaned down and put a hand on his shoulder, "your brother is trying. He just needs to find something else to replace it."

He glanced to her hand and then up to her before looking back to his feet, "I know, just hard to deal with him sometimes."

"I'll be there to help," Valora smiled at him, "Merle told me I remind him of your mother. What was she like?"

"Bitchy," he laughed and Valora couldn't help but smirk, "but she was caring. Didn't want to leave anyone out, and she'd always say that we should be raised right. Told us to treat women with respect, and whatnot."

Valora laughed, "Carol said that I'm the only one to get Merle to do something without him arguing with me about it. When he said that he'd give you the cigarettes I told him I'd be the one to give 'em to you. He glared at me and stormed off."

"That's scary," Daryl said, "Merle's never been one to give up without a fight."

"I know that much from Atlanta," Valora lightly chuckled.

"You should go get some sleep," he said looking up to her from the corner of his eye, and then looking back to his feet, "you'll need it for tomorrow."

Valora smiled at him, and put a hand on his shoulder, "see you, Dixon."

Daryl nodded his head, and she headed over to the ladder. She grabbed her boots in one hand and tossed them to the ground. Valora stepped down to go down the ladder. She looked up one last time to see Daryl pulling out another cigarette, and then he mumbled some curse words.

"Dixon," Valora said and he turned around, "here," she said sliding her lighter across the roof of the RV, "give it back to me tomorrow."

He nodded to her, and she made my journey down the ladder. Once she got to the bottom she quickly slipped on her boots and headed to the truck where she'd be sleeping. Valora looked back to catch Daryl's eyes following her every movement. She smirked and waved to him before disappearing behind the truck and hopped in. Valora saw Steven asleep and her blanket and pillow were all set up for her again. Valora smiled and went and planted yet another kiss on the boy's forehead before going to her side of the truck. Valora sighed one last time before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.


	10. Back To Atlanta

Holy crap! This is the longest chapter so far! Hope you guys like it though! I know that I liked writing it!

* * *

"Come on let's go!" Daryl shouted after he slammed his foot on the horn in the truck, "we ain't got all day!"

I laughed and looked up to the man that I had spilled my past to last night, "calm down Daryl."  
"Those fuckers are taking too long," he grunted sitting down in the back.

"They just wanna say their goodbyes," I sighed looking out the front of the car, "in case something happens and they end up not coming back."

"I don't need ta do that," he grumbled, "I know that I'm coming back."

"That could change one day," I said looking down to my hands resting in my lap.

Daryl was about to speak up until the back of the truck slammed shut and Glenn went and sat down. Rick opened the door and got in. Once he sat down he looked to the rearview mirror and nodded to Daryl, and Daryl returned the nod.

I turned around to see Glenn sitting there awkwardly looking up to Daryl, "hey Glenn, you wanna sit up here so you can give Rick directions on where to go?"

I saw him look at me and he had relief written all over his face, "yeah."

I quickly grabbed my bag, and slipped it on my back before getting into the back to switch places with Glenn. I looked up to see Glenn mouthing 'thanks' to me before he sat down in the passengers seat. I smirked before sitting down. I looked up to see Daryl cleaning his fingernails with his knife again, and I smirked remembering about what I had told him the night before.

Daryl looked up to me to see the smirk of my face and he immediately put his knife away and looked away, "shut up," he mumbled so that only I could hear it.

I put a hand to my mouth to muffle the laugh that I couldn't hold back. The roar of the engine caught me off guard and I jumped slightly. I looked over to see Daryl smirking at me, and I glared at him. I lifted my hand up and flipped him the bird. I was shocked when I saw him mouth 'when and where?' I felt a blush creep its way to my face and I hid it in my hands.

I took three deep breaths and I felt the blush go away. Once it went away I removed my hands from my face and looked over to Daryl. He was now biting on his fingernail, and looking at the crossbow that was resting on his legs. He looked up and I raised an eyebrow at him, and he pulled his hand away from his face and grunted at me. It was now my turn to have a victory smirk.

The rest of the ride was quiet, other than the roaring noise of the engine. Glenn had Rick stop on the train tracks not too far from the city. we all got out of the truck, and followed Glenn into the city. So far we've only seen a couple of walkers. Not much of a problem, but it was odd that there wasn't as many as there was before. We stopped in a pharmacy that was just a little bit into the town and got the things we needed.

After I grabbed what was needed I went behind the cash register and broke the glass where the tobacco was in. I grabbed all of the cigarettes that would fit into my backpack, and zipped it closed. I looked up to see Daryl raising a curious eyebrow at me and I shrugged.

"Gotta get a lot if Merle's gonna be goin through that much in a day," I said, "better him smoking this than doing whatever stuff he does."

Daryl nodded slowly and said, "just make sure that those don't slow ya down."

"They aren't gonna slow me down," I shook my head, "they barely weight anything anyways."

He just shrugged one shoulder and looked to where Rick and Glenn were returning from. Rick shared another nod with Daryl, and I was slightly confused. Some kind of telepathic thing between them? Almost like they were talking with their eyes.

"C'mon Valora," I heard Daryl call out, "ain't got time for daydreamin."

I shook off wahtever I was thinking about and looked to see the three men waiting at the front door for me, "sorry," I said once I got to them, "musta went into my own world for a minute."

"Now, let's go get my bag o'guns," Rick said slowly opening the door.

We slowly made our way across the street following Glenn, and we stopped behind a building, "I was thinking we could go back to the building that we were stuck in. Work our way back to the guns."

Rick nodded to him, "whatever you thinks best Glenn."

We followed Glenn through the alley and we came to a stop at the end. Glenn peaked his head around the corner and immediately pulled his head back. He held up his hands and made one look like an o, and holding up three fingers on the other hand. Ricks eyes widened and Glenn looked around in the alley, and his eyes landed on a ladder. He motioned us to follow him and began to climb the ladder. Rick climbed up after him, and I was about to climb but I stopped. I was thinking that Daryl would have full view of my ass as we climbed.

I was about to speak until I saw a couple of walkers make their way around the corner. All thoughts left my mind and I climbed. Daryl followed close behind me on the ladder. Once we reached the little platform we stopped to look down to see those thirty walkers Glenn was talking about clawing at the wall to reach us. I wiped the sweat off my brow and looked to Daryl who had a cocky smirk on his face. I swatted his arm, and he looked to me to see my glare. That only made his smirk bigger, and my blush darken.

"C'mon," Glenn said looking to the ladder which didn't stop until the top of the building, "let's get to the top and move from the top of the buildings."

We all nodded in agreement, and I felt Daryl grab my arm and put his face next to mine, "long as I get ta be last again."

I put my elbow back and hit him in the stomach, and he wasn't even fazed but it, "I'm gonna be last."

"You're no fun," he mumbled rubbing the place where I elbowed him.

"Your brother said the same thing last time I was here. Must be something 'bout Atlanta that makes me 'no fun'," I smirked.

He swung his crossbow so it was hanging behind him and he began to climb. I looked back down to see the walkers still reaching up for us. I looked back to the ladder and climbed. I was a little behind, but I didn't care, I was enjoying the view.

Once we reached the top we were met with a couple of walkers to deal with. Rick and Glenn had taken them out while Daryl was helping me onto the roof. I smirked at him, and he smirked right back at me. Once I was on the roof, we were moving. Glenn made the way complicated by taking ways that would be hard for walkers to take. It was smart, but tiring.

After what seemed to be forever we finally made it to the building that Merle was handcuffed to. I laughed at the memory, and I got a look from the group. I just shook them off, and now we were heading into the building. We used the flashlight as we walked through the staircase. After slowly making our way to the first floor Glenn peaked his head through the door, and opened it all the way to reveal no walkers.

"This is getting way too easy," I said feeling uneasy.

"Yeah," Rick said in a harsh tone, "too easy."

Glenn led us through the building, and we still hadn't seen any walkers. We walked through the small alley that was blocked off from the crashed bus. Those two walkers were still there, and Daryl shot one down with a bolt while Rick when and took one out with a knife. After Daryl retrieved his bolt we were up the stairs, and into the building. Yet another ladder had to be climbed, and Daryl insisted that it was now his turn to be last. I said he could, either way it was going to be dark.

Once we got up the ladder, Glenn had us taking another confusing way back to the ladder he had us climb up the first time. Glenn looked down the ladder to see that there weren't any walkers there. He rushed to the other side of the building and looked to see where the bag of guns were. Once he got back he told us that there were only a couple of geeks wandering around the tank.

"Daryl and Valora," Rick started, "you guys head down the ladder and Glenn and I are gonna head down a couple of buildings. In case one of you can't make it back the way you came, you'll go straight to the second alley"

We nodded to them, and they walked over to the side of the building, "I call going down first."

I looked to see him already heading down the ladder, "just don't get too distracted and fall."

"Don't worry," he smirked to me, "I'm a Dixon."

"Whatever," I laughed as I climbed over the wall to the ladder.

We made out decent and stopped at the platform. We looked to the ground, and not a single walker in sight. This was just getting way too suspicious. I looked over to Daryl to see him scratching at the back of his neck, and he wasn't stopping.

He met my gaze and kept on itching, "I got this damn itch that won't go away. It's bugging the fuck outta me."

I laughed, "I can tell."

I began to climb down the ladder. I didn't pay much attention to Daryl, and kept my attention on where a walker could suddenly get me. Once I made it to the bottom, I quietly made my way to the entrance of the alley. I quietly looked out to see those two walkers that Glenn had filled us in about. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked back to see Daryl.

"I'll go get them," he said.

"No, I'm going to go get them," I said and this earned me a glare from him, before he could protest I said, "I can get out there quickly, and I can take out those two walkers piece of cake without using my gun," I said, and I took off my bag, "watch this for me."

His glare hardened and his grip on my shoulder tightened, "don't make me regret letting you go out there," he said letting go of my shoulder, "get yer ass out there."

I nodded to him, and I quietly made my way to a car not too far away from the alley. I looked in the car to see someone who was dead, wait scratch that,was a walker. I quickened my pace and made my way to the last car in the row. I was only twenty or so feet away from the guns, and I took in a deep breath before sprinting to the bag. The two walkers that were wandering around the tank saw me, and I quickly pulled out my knife. I took out one of them by stabbing the back of its head, and looked over to see the other one rushing for me. I pulled out my knife and the walkers liquids squirted on me. I held back the urge to barf, and tackled the other walker and shoved my knife in the middle of its face.

"Ew," I quietly whined pulling the knife out only to be covered in more unknown walker fluids.

I stood up and wiped my knife on my pants before putting it back into its holster. I went over to the bag of guns and swung it over my shoulder. I began to make my way back when I turned to see a sheriffs hat laying on the ground. I smirked and went and grabbed it before rushing back. Once I got there I froze at the sight of two men beating Daryl with a baseball bat and their feet.  
Their attention turned to me and one shouted, "that's it! That's the bag, Vato! Take it! Take it!"  
Then they ran at me I dropped the bag and hat and reached for my gun but one of the guys socked me in my face. I fell to the ground and groaned but I was pulled back up. One of the men was holding me under my arm and I looked to see Daryl on the ground aiming his crossbow and shooting. The bolt landed right in the mans ass and he grabbed at it, and shook it off holding me tighter under my arms.

"Get off me! Damnit, get off!" I shouted but the man still held me tight, "Daryl! Daryl!" I shouted reaching out to him, and I shouted one last time at the top of my lungs, "Daryl!"

I heard a car pull up, and the man holding me pulled me into the car. I was kicking and screaming for them to let me go. My attempts were useless and I felt a hand go over my screams muffled and I clawed at the mans hand, but I was losing air. My vision blurred and I was soon consumed by darkness.

* * *

I looked up to see the man sock Valora in the face. That pissed me off, and I lifted my crossbow and hit the man in the ass. I shook off the pain in my side, and I looked to see Valora reaching out for me.

"Daryl! Daryl!" she shouted to me, and I slowly stood up trying my hardest to shake off the pain in my side, and she shouted again this time being louder than before, "Daryl!"

I was up in an instant, but once I got to the gate she was pulled into the car and driving away, "come back here you sumbitches!"

I looked to see about twenty or so walkers which we hadn't seen before coming to the gate, and I angrily closed it. I turned around to see the scrawny little bitch still on the ground. I began to stop to him, but Rick came running and stopped me from going very far.

"Imma kick your nuts up in your throat! You stupid bitch!" I shouted and Rick pushed me back more, "they took Valora! That little bastard and his homies fucking took her! I'm gonna fucking kill your ass!" I shouted over Rick's arm that was pushing me back.

"Get to the lab, go," Rick said to Glenn who was struggling to hold the boy to the wall, and he ran.

Rick went and grabbed the bag of guns and his hat. I began to follow him, but then I went back almost forgetting Valora's bag. After I grabbed the bag I was back to following Rick to the lab. Once we got there Glenn was struggling to keep the little bitch in the seat.

"We need to know where they went," Rick said shaking his head at the boy, "you mind tellin us where?"

"I ain't tellin you nothin," the boy said glaring up at me, and I returned it.

"The hell happened out there man?" Glenn asked looking up to me.

"I told you before," I said walking up to Glenn, "this lil turd and his douchebag friends came outta nowhere and jumped me," I said trying to keep myself from lurching at the boy and beating the answers outta him.

"You're the one who jumped me, puto," the boy mumbled looking up to meet my angry glare.

That pissed me off, "they took Valora, now tell me where the fuck they took her," I said pacing back and forth behind Rick and Glenn.

"Valora? The hell kinda whore name is that?" he asked and that really did it.

I was about to jump at him and beat his ass but Rick jumped in front of me. I was about to kick him, but he wasn't close enough. I breathed in and glared at Rick, and I moved over to where Valoras bag was sitting. I opened it and looked inside for something to scare the shit outta the boy. I smirked when I found this huge ass machete in the bag. I pulled it out and looked to the boy. He was practically pissing himself as he screamed running into the wall. I set the machete back in the bag and walked up to him grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"I'll cut your fingers of one at a time till you tell us where they fucking took her," I shouted to him, but I was thrown out of the way by Rick.

He kneeled down to eye level with the boy and calmly spoke, "the men you were with took our friend. All we wanna do is talk with them, see if we can work something out."

The boy looked up to Rick and slowly nodded his head while biting his bottom lip. Little prick better take us to them or I'll be even more pissed. Might even kill the stupid fucker.

* * *

I felt a pain in my face, and I reached for it and groaned. I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was in a white room. Everything was white except for the black curtains covering the window. I slowly sat up still grabbing at the side of my face that still hurt. I groaned again and swung my feet over the side of the bed. I slowly stood up and walked over to the window and opened the curtains. The room was filled with light, and I could see that I was in what looked like a bedroom that you'd see in a retirement home.

"What the fuck?" I asked rubbing the side of my face, and I looked around and my eyes landed on a mirror. I walked over to it and looked at myself in the mirror to see my lip had a cut on it, and a bandage on my left cheek. I gingerly touched the bandage and cringed at the stinging pain as a result of touching it.

I heard the door being unlocked and I reached for my knife, but it wasn't there. I quickly looked around the room, and grabbed the lamp on the table. The door opened to reveal a hispanic man that looked to be in his late twenties. He held up his hands and stifled a laugh.

"Don't worry," he said walking in, "I'm not here to hurt you. Just came to check up on the girl we accidentally brought back."

"Who are you?" I asked gripping the lamp tighter, "and where are my weapons?"

"Don't worry," he said slowly putting his hands down, "your weapons are being held somewhere where nobody can access them. Why don't you come with me, and I'll give you a tour of the place?"

I slowly put the lamp down, and looked to him. I walked up to him, and he turned around and I decided to follow. Once I stepped into the hallway my jaw dropped. Elderly people littered the hallway, and the men who had jumped Daryl and I were helping them. I was shocked to see that these people who looked like thugs, were helping out those who wouldn't be able to survive in this cruel world.

"Well c'mon missy," I heard him say and I snapped out of my thoughts and caught up to him.

"So you're here, protecting these people?" I asked him and he looked back to me and nodded.

"They can't fight for themselves," he sighed, "somebody's gotta look after 'em."

"I have a new respect for you guys," I said and smirked, "even though one of your guys socked me in the face pretty hard."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said putting a hand to his neck, "he got caught in the moment, and he freaked out. That's what he told me."

I nodded my head, and followed him down the rest of the hallway. There was a man sitting in a chair and people were surrounding him. I quickly rushed passed the man who led me here, and went up to the people helping the man. My heart broke at the sight of the man who was suffering from what looked to be a heart attack or something.

"Been happening to him everyday now," the man from before said walking up to my side, "we've been out looking for the medicine that he needs, but we just haven't found it."

"Do you know how to help him with it?" I asked looking to him with tears brimming in my eyes.

"No, but all we know is to just let him ride it out," he sighed, "poor guy's been through hell the past week."

Then the man that punched me came up to us, "boss, they're here."

"Who's here?" I asked getting a little curious.

"You're friends I would presume," he said looking to me, "would you mind acting as out hostage? Please, if they find out we don't actually have anything to defend ourselves with then we're screwed. I'm beggin you."

I didn't have to think twice about it, "I'll do it. They won't do anything stupid I don't think."

"God bless you," the man said, and I looked to his friend who was looking at me nervously.

"Just tell me what to do and I'll do it," I said and the man smiled to me.

"Felipe, take her to the roof," he nodded to his friend, "make sure to acted scared as you can when you're up there."

"You got it," I smiled at him, and followed Felipe to the roof.

Once we were far enough away I nailed Felipe in the gut, "that was for punchin me in the face."

He groaned and grabbed his stomach, and choked out, "seems fair."

Once we got to the roof a couple of guys were waiting forus. I smiled at the two of them and they returned the smile. I walked up to them and they taped my hands behind my back and put some tape over my mouth.

"You gotta act scared when we pull the bag off your face, okay?" one of the men said.

I nodded my head not being able to talk because of the tape. Once he put the bag over my face they led me somewhere, and we stood there for a while. It was then that I heard the sound of doors opening, and I could hear their whole conversation.

"You okay little man?" I heard the man from earlier ask.

"They're gonna kill me, Carnal," I heard some other guy say.

"Cops do that?" the guy from earlier asked.

"Not him. This redneck puto, over here," the other guy said, and I assumed he was talking about Daryl.

"Hey, that's that Vato right there, homes," I heard Felipe say, and I heard a gun being cocked, "he shot me in the ass with an arrow. What's up, homes, huh?"

"Chill, ese, chill," the man said, and he waited a second before talking, "this true? Wanting to kill Miguelito?"

"We were hoping more for a calm discussion," I heard Rick say.

"That hillbilly jumps Felipes little cousin, beats on him, threatens to kill him, Felipe gets an arrow in the ass, you want a calm discussion? You fascinate me" the man said.

"Heat of the moment," was Rick's comeback, "mistakes were made, on both sides."

"Who's that chickita to you anyway? None o' ya look related," the man said to them.

"She's one of our group," Rick said, "she has a son back at camp."

"I have your girl," the man said, "what do ya think?"

"We have one of yours," Rick said, "you have one of mine. Sounds like a fair trade."

"Don't sound even to me," the man said and I heard the other unknown guy beg him not to do this.

"My people got attacked. Where's the compensation for their pain and suffering?" he said and I heard him sniff, "more to the point, where's my bag o' guns?"

"Guns?" Rick asked him.

"The bag o' guns Miguel saw in the street. The bag that Felipe and Jorge were going back to get. That bag o' guns," the man said.

"You seem to be mistaken," Rick said and the man said he didn't think so, and Rick said, "about it being yours. It's my bag of guns."

"The bag was in the street," the man said, "anybody could come around and say it was theirs. I'm supposed to take your word? What's to stop my people from unloading on you right here and right now?And I take what's mine."

'Because you don't have any bullets, like you told me earlier,' I thought in my mind.

"You could do that," Rick said, and a few seconds later he said, "or not."

I didn't know what was about the long pause, but I shrugged it off. I figured the bag would come off my head sooner or later so I'd find out.

"Oye!" the man shouted, and I was grabbed from my hands behind.

I put forth some struggle as they led me somewhere. I felt a hand grab at the bag on my head, and quickly it was removed. I looked down to make eye contact with Daryl, and his stayed locked on my 'worried' ones. He looked away and adjusted the crossbow on his shoulder and he was now glaring at the man.

'Don't you fucking shoot that crossbow Daryl,' I thought with actual worry for the man below going on my face.

"I see two options," the man said, "you come back with Miguel and my bag o' guns, everybody walks. or you come back locked and loaded, we'll see which side spills more blood."

Then the men began to make their way back into the building. I looked down to Daryl who was looking up at me. I furrowed my brow together and shook my head at him. He kept looking to me like he didn't see my head shaking back and forth, and I was pulled back and out of their sight.

One of the men pulled a knife out and cut the tape on my hands, and I reached up and tore off the tape on my mouth, "if they know what's good for them, they will do the smart thing."

The two men shared a look and then looked to me, "thank you for doing that."

I smiled at them, "you guys are really kind. You know," I said and they both nodded.

"Though we look the opposite," one of them smiled.

"Yeah," I smiled at them, and then the man from before came up to the roof.

"You think they bought it?" he asked rushing over to us.

"Yeah," I said and I smiled at him, "that boy with the sniper over there wouldn't have been able to shoot you. He saves lives, not the opposite. He was the one that actually saved my son, that cop, and me from a shitload of walkers."

"No kidding," he laughed, "names Guillermo, you can call me G."

"Valora," I smiled and held a hand out, "nice to meet you."

He shook my hand, "pleasures all mine."

"So have you guys tried looking in the pharmacy stores on the outskirts of the city?" I asked as we made our way back into the building.

"No, they're too far out, and we don't have the weapons to take out that many," G said shaking his head.

"Hey, give me my weapons, and one of your guys, and I'll be back by nightfall," I said, "I know my way around town. Been in here a million times when I was a kid. I know the place like the back of my hand. I can also avoid where my friends are held up."

He stopped and put a hand to his chin and thought about it, "you sure you'll be back by nightfall?"

"Yeah," I said, "just make sure the guy you send knows how to stay quiet."

"I'll send Felipe with you," he said, "best man I got, and here," he said pulling an orange bottle out of his pocket, "this is the medicine the man needs."

I took the bottle and nodded to him, "okay. Let's go get my weapons and we can head out."


	11. Medicine

"Tomorrow," Rick said to me.

"She'll be fucking dead by tomorrow!" I shouted in his face.

"No she won't," Rick said holding his hand up to me, "she'll be fine. They don't see, like they're gonna kill her unless we kill him."

"That's why we need to go today!" I shouted to him, "they'll think that we went and killed their guy, and they're gonna go ahead and kill her, or fucking worse and make her their fucking slut!"

That caused Rick to cringe, and he put two fingers on the bridge of his nose, "I still say tomorrow. Valora's a tough girl, if I know her more than anyone."

"You guys 're fucking stupid," I mumbled.

"We need to go and get her now," I heard Glenn argue, "like what Daryl said, they could do, things to her. Things that really shouldn't happen to a girl."

"At least someone fucking agrees with me," I said throwing my hands in the air, "the longer we wait the more likely it is that something is going to happen to her."

Rick looked up and then put his head in his hands, "I still say tomorrow. We'll have level heads, and we'll be able to make the right choice."

"Screw you man, I'm going in there," I said grabbing my crossbow from my side, "don't give a damn if I have to go through and kill the lot of 'em. She's got a boy waitin for her back at camp. I ain't gonna wanna tell him that his mom ain't comin back because you wanted to wait another fucking day."

"Daryl!" Rick shouted coming after me, and I turned around and glared at him, "fine we'll go today. Just let me think this through first."

"You got fifteen minutes," I said plopping down in a chair and pulling out a knife to clean my fingernails.

* * *

"I promise I'll be back by nightfall," I said looking to G in the eyes, "if my friends end up coming back before then, tell them the truth. I can tell you this, that the redneck guy will shoot first and not ask any questions."

He nodded to me, and I smiled at him, "I promise I'll bring your best guy back in one piece," I smiled up to Felipe and we headed out.

"So where we going?" Felipe asked following closely behind me.

"To the Walgreens on the outside of the town," I said grabbing my knife, "this is gonna be fun."

I heard Felipe gulp loudly and I smirked as I walked over to the edge of a wall and turned my head to him, "nervous?"

"Nope," he said but I could see it in his face.

"I'll make sure to take the way that we'll encounter less geeks," I smiled to him.

I peeked my head around the corner, and turned to nod to Felipe. He nodded back and we ran across the street infested with geeks. We stayed low so that they couldn't make us out. Once we reached the other side, there were two geeks in the alley we needed to get into. I motioned for Felipe to got get the first one while I took out the second one by shoving my knife in its face. Once I pulled my knife out I was yet again sprayed with body fluids from the walker.

This time I couldn't hold my vomit in, and I let it out next to me. Once I finished vomiting I looked to see Felipes face slightly green. Once I looked past him my eyes widened and I motioned for him to get down. He got down and looked behind him and his eyes widened at the growing amount of walkers at the end of the alley that hadn't noticed us yet. I put a finger to my lips and moved the walker I killed recently on top of me, and he did the same with the walker he killed.

I kept an eye on the walkers at the street, and the all turned to the alley. I held my breath for that instant but I let it go once they turned around and headed back. After they were gone I shoved the dead geek off me, and Felipe threw his off of himself. I slowly made my way to the ladder and told him to climb up. Once he was far enough up I started to climb. Once I was up high enough I looked down to see that all of the walkers that were in the street were now reaching up for me.

"Shit," I mumbled before looking up to see Felipe already halfway up the building.

I climbed at my own pace and when I reached the top Felipe grabbed me by my belt and pulled me the rest of the way up, "thanks."  
"No problem," he said, "where to next?"

I looked around and looked to see where we were at and I smirked, "looks like we'll make it back before nightfall if we don't run into anything."

He looked in the direction I was looking and saw that there was a Walgreens just down the street from us, "well isn't that fucking convenient," he laughed.

"Yes it is," I smirked, "c'mon, don't wanna keep the old man waiting on him medicine."

He nodded his head, and we jogged across the roof of the building. Once we reached the egde, there was about 3 feet distance between the next one. I looked up to Felipe and he shrugged to me, and went back a few feet before sprinting and making the jump. I walked back a little farther than Felipe and took in a deep breath before sprinting. I barely made the jump with one of my feet off the edge and I gripped onto the side. I was about to fall but Felipe was up and pulling me onto the building.

"Thanks," I panted, "now how're we gonna get back up there?"

"Use the ladder," he said pointing to the convenient ladder that was leaning against the wall on the roof.

"This isn't going to be good when we get to Walgreens," I sighed as we began to jog to the other side of the roof.

"What makes you say that?" he asked raising a brow at me.

"Happened when we went to get the guns," I sighed, "it was way too easy getting in here and getting the guns, and then we ran into you guys."

He nodded his head, and we stopped at the edge of the building that was connected to the other, "see, fucking easy as pie."

"No kidding," he laughed and we walked across the roof of this building saving our energy for what's to come.

It was a piece of cake getting to Walgreens, but once we got inside, not so much. There was a walker around every corner. If Felipe wasn't there taking the walkers out with his baseball bat I'd be dead. Once we double checked the place for walkers we might have missed we made our way to the prescribed medicine section. This reminded me all too much of when I met Morgan and Duane. Once we got to the back, I heard some noises come from the back. I gulped and stopped at the last wall of shelving, and looked to Felipe. He nodded to me and I quickly turned the corner only to drop my knife to the ground.

My mouth dropped to the ground. In the corner were two children huddled up in the forner under a blanket. My heart dropped to my stomach when I looked to the fear in the little boys eyes as he held a little girl closer to him. I dropped to one knee and I warmly smiled to them.

"It's okay," I said holding my arms out, "it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

The boy looked up to me, and I saw blood smeared on his cheek. He didn't look a day over eight. The fear in his eyes almost brought tears to mine. I gulped and I stood up and slowly approached them.

"Come here," I said getting back on one knee, "I'm here to help you. What's your name?"

"K-kayden," the boy choked out, "this is my sister, Melanie."

"Hey Kayden," I smiled at him, "come over here. I'll take you somewhere safe. You don't have to worry."

He looked at me and then to his sister, "come on Melanie. Let's go. There's a lady here, and she's gonna help us."

I saw brown eyes peek over the blanket and I looked to her, "its okay sweetie, come here. You're safe now."

She looked to her brother, and then to me. Her brother slowly stood up, and he pulled at her hand. They shared a look with each other before slowly walking to me. I held my arms out, and they both ran to me. They hugged me tight, and I hugged them back. I rubbed my hands on the back of their hands and I cooed the little girl who was now in tears.

"Its okay," I said, "you're safe now."

"I got the medicine he needs," I heard Felipe say behind me.

I pulled away from the two kids and I smiled at the both of them, "you have to be quiet on our way back to our house okay? You promise me you'll stay quiet until we're home?"

The two of them nodded and I smiled at them, "don't leave my sight okay?"

They nodded again and I stood up and grabbed my knife and put it into its holster, "Felipe, keep an eye out for these two," I said to him and he nodded, "I'll hop over the counter you hand them over."

I hopped over the counter, and he handed me Melanie, and I took her in my arms. Felipe just hopped over the counter with Kayden in his arms. I nodded to him, and we decided just to hold onto the kids. We'd be able to get to the ladder quicker. I looked to the girl in my arms and I smiled at her.

"Just hold onto my shirt," I said, "hold on tighter if you get scared," all she could do was nod.

"Same goes for you Kayden," Felipe sternly said and the boy nodded to him.

We headed to the front door, and I peeked my head out to see no geeks in sight. We quietly slipped out and made our way to the alley across the street. Once we got to the ladder I set Melanie down, and I kneeled down so I was now at her level.

"Do you know how to climb ladders?" I smiled at her and she nodded her head slowly, "I'm gonna need you to climb this one for me. Can you do that?"

She looked up to the ladder and back to me and slowly nodded her head, and I smiled at her, "Kayden, I'm going to need you to be a big boy and climb up the ladder after your sister," he nodded to me and the two kids made their way up the ladder.

"Told ya it wasn't gonna be easy," I sighed looking to the two kids slowly climbing the ladder.

"Yup," he sighed, "gonna be a pain getting them to go on that ladder on the last one."

"Yeah," I sighed, "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now lets just focus on getting them to safety."

He nodded his head, and then looked over to the other end of the alley, "get on the ladder and climb, now."

I got on the ladder, and climbed as fast as I could, I looked down to see Felipe just barely making it out of the many walkers reach. I sighed in relief and I looked up to see the kids about halfway up the four story building. I climbed at a slower pace now knowing that Felipe was safe. I caught up with the kids who were now getting tired.

"You guys can make it!" I said, "just a little more!"

"But we're tired," I heard the boy complain.

"Just a little more!" I shouted, and the two kids began climbing again. Once they made it up and over I climbed the rest of the way, and helped Felipe over the wall.

We took a break letting the kids rest. We hadn't brought anything along not expecting to find two kids who hadn't eaten for a while. I sadly smiled at the little boy who was staying strong for the little girl who was his sister. I reached over and put a hand on the boys shoulder. He looked to my hand and then to me.

"You're doing a great job," I smiled at him, "just keep it up until we get home, okay?"

He nodded to me and breathed out, "I'm not tired yet. I can keep going."

"That's a big boy," I smiled at him.

Then we made our way back to the building we came from. It was tiring having to life the kids over the ledges that they couldn't climb over, but they must've been more tired than we were. The whole time we were walking the little boy held his sisters hand. I smiled at the two of them. I was going to get these kids to safety even if it costs me my life.

* * *

Rick had finally made his decision to bring the boy back, but we were going to be locked and loaded. We brought the boy to the building with his hands tied behind his back, and we put something over his mouth. Once we got there they opened the doors, and I was behind the boy with a gun to his back. Everyone in the rooms eyes were on us.

"I see my guns, but they're not all in the bag," G said to them feeling defeated.

"That's because they're not yours," Rick said not breaking eye contact with the man, "I thought I mentioned that."

"Let's just shoot these fools man, ese," one of him men said, "unload on their asses, ese."

"I don't think you fully appreciate the gravity of the situation," G said to him raising a brow.

Rick lowered his gun, "no I'm pretty clear," Rick pulled out a knife and cut the boys ropes and shoved him towards G, "you have your guy, I get mine."

G glared at him for a second before stepping up to him, "I'm gonna chop up your girl. Gonna feed him to my dogs. They're the evilest, nastiest man-eating bitches you ever saw. I picked them up from Satan at a yard sale. I told you how it has to be, are you woefully deaf?"

"No my hearings fine. You said come locked and loaded," Rick said cocking back his gun and we all raised our guns, "okay then, we're here."

Everyone in the room had their weapons ready, and guns were aimed at my head. I was about to start firing rounds until I heard the voice of a woman coming from behind all the men. She didn't sound that young either.

"Felipe! Felipe!" the woman shouted shoving her way through the group of men and she stopped next to G.

G looked to her and I shouted, "get the old woman outta the line of fire!" I didn't want the blood of an old woman's blood on my hands, that would just be terrible.

"Where's Felipe?" she asked stopping next to G.

"Abuela, now's not the time," G said through gritted teeth,

" , he's having trouble breathing," she said grabbing onto his sleeve, "he needs his asthma stuff. He needs his medicine."

"Abuela we have someone getting his stuff right now," G said again, "Felipe went with someone to go and get it."

"But he needs it now," she said and then she looked to us, "who are these men?"

"Just some people we know," G said reaching out to the woman who was walking towards us.

"These boys are good men," she said walking up to Rick as he aimed his gun upwards, "they have trouble, but they'll pull through it. We need these men here."

Rick stopped and said, "ma'am, I'm not here to arrest these men."

"Then what do you want him for?" she asked him.

"He's," Rick started, "helping us find a missing person. Girl named Valora."

"The pretty woman?" she asked.

Rick didn't know how to respond to that so I spoke up, "yeah, you know where she is?"

"She's the one who went with Felipe," G sighed looking up to us, "she said she wanted to go get Mr. Gilberts medicine."

"Are you kidding?" I asked, "and you let her go?"

"Felipe is one of my best men here," G said looking up, "she suggested that she'd go. I didn't even ask her. Though I asked her to play hostage."

That caused my blood to boil, "so you're telling me you just let her go out there with one o' yer men?"

"Felipe is a good man," I looked to see the old woman looking up to me, "he knows how to treat a lady. He wouldn't dare harm one if his life depended on it."

I looked to the old woman then to G, and he nodded, "what she says is true. That's why he's the best man around here."

"When's she gonna be back?" I asked putting the gun I had down.

"She said nightfall or sooner," G said, "no later."

"Looks like we're hangin with you till nightfall," Rick said eyeing the man cautiously.


	12. Never Again

We finally made it to the roof we started at, but we weren't able to go up to it. We had one small problem. That problem was Melanie's fear of heights. I was on the other roof as Felipe was down there telling her to get on the ladder. She kept shaking her head, and she moved in closer to her brother.

"Kayden," I said, "I'm going to need you to be the big boy, and help your sister. She needs to climb the ladder. I promise nothing is going to happen to her."

I saw Kaydens small hand cover his face as he looked up to me. His expression turned from scared to determined. I saw him whisper something to the little girl, and she slowly looked up to me. I saw her slowly walk to the ladder, and Felipe helped her up.

"Don't worry sweetie," I smiled down at her, "nothing's gonna happen to ya."

"I-I'm scared, " she shouted to me.

"It's okay, just look at me, and don't look down," I smiled at her, and she slowly grabbed onto a bar. She took it slowly and kept her eyes on me. I could see the fear in her eyes, and she was trying her hardest not to look down. I wanted to go down to her and just carry her up.

"You're almost there sweetie," I said leaning over the ledge a little farther, and she kept her eyes on mine, "almost there."

She climbed the last bit and once she was within my reach I grabbed under her arms and pulled her up the rest of the way, "you did a great job. You were so brave."

She shyly looked up to me and smiled. I pushed a hair that was in her face behind her ear and returned the smile before looking back down to the ladder. I saw Felipe already sending Kayden up the ladder, and the little boy looked terrified. I looked to him and smiled at him.

"You got this Kayden," I smiled at him, and I set Melanie down and she stuck to my leg, "almost there buddy. You're a brave little boy you know that?"

He looked to me and the corners of his lips slightly curved upwards. He moved slightly faster, and he was up to the top in no time. Once he was to the top I helped him over, and the little girl immediately went over to him. I looked down to Felipe who was still standing at the other roof waiting for me to make sure the ladder didn't slip under his weight.

"Kay," I smiled down at him, "let's get this over with."

I saw him smirk, and he hopped up to the ledge. Once his weight was applied to the ladder I was struggling a bit. I hid my struggle and focused on keeping the ladder steady. Felipe was climbing faster than the two kids. Once he was a little ways from the top, I felt the ladder slip. My heart raced and I reached out for him.

"Felipe!" I shouted and his eyes went wide, and he took hold of my hand.

I bit my bottom lip at the new pain in the arm that was holding Felipe, "you alright?"

"Yeah," I heard him pant, "you?"  
"Not so much," I said through clenched teeth, "there a window you can get into from there?"

I looked to see him nod his head to a window a foot or so away from him, "I'm gonna give ya a little swing, and the rest is up to you."

I took in a deep breath and mustered up all of my strength the swing the man over to the window. Once he let go my eyes followed him grabbing onto the small ledge under the window. He pulled himself up and squatted down by the window. He smashed his side into the window, and he looked up to me and nodded before heading in.

"At least he's okay," I breathed grabbing my throbbing arm. I cringed when I touched it. I looked to the two little kids looking at me in shock.

"Don't worry," I smiled and put my hands on their shoulders, "he's going to be here in no time."

They both nodded their small heads, and I stood up. Melanie reached out and took ahold of my left hand and Kayden reached out for my right hand. I smiled to myself and squeezed the little kids' hands, and walked over to where I'd be expecting to see Felipe. We got over there and the door banged open, and Felipe was out of breath as he pressed his back to the door.

"What happened?" I asked rushing over to him.

"Geeks," he panted, "lots of 'em in there."

"Did a lot of them see you?" I asked looking down at Melanie who had tightened her grip on my hand.

"No," he said his breath finally starting to come back, "only one or two, but even if just one of them see you, they could all be on our as-, butts."

I looked to the little kids, and I looked back to Felipe, "let's get down the ladder. They won't be able to get us there."

He nodded his head and then looked over to a pipe. Once he grabbed the pipe he stuck it through the handles on the door, and he groaned as he tried to bend it. He was only able to slightly bend it, making it so the geeks would be stuck there long enough for all of us to get down the ladder.

We rushed over to the ladder and I went down first followed by Melanie, Kayden, and finally Felipe. Once we were closer to the bottom I looked around to see if any geeks were in the alley. Only one, and I could take that one out while the rest of them were getting down the ladder. I jumped off when I wasn't at the bottom fully and rushed over to the geek. It noticed me and reached for me as I pulled my knife out. I stabbed it up through the bottom to the jaw and it fell towards me. I pulled the knife out and backed up quickly making a disgusted look.

I looked up over to Melanie who was waiting for her brother to get down the ladder. Once Felipe was on the ground he was rushing the kids over to me. I crouched down and slowly made my way to the edge of the alley. I saw geeks swarming the streets on the end of the streets. I gulped and turned back, and looked to everyone with a nervous look plastered on their faces.

"Melanie," I whispered, "I'm gonna need to carry you across the street okay? Kayden, Felipe is gonna have to carry you," I said and they both nodded.

Once I had Melanie comfortably on my hip. I took a deep breath and put a finger to my lips, and the little girl mimicked me before burying her face in my shirt. I was still in my crouched position as I quietly made it to a crashed car not too far out. I peeked my head over, and looked to see all of the geeks distracted. I quietly moved over behind the next car, and looked over again. No geeks were paying attention again. This time there were no other cars to hide behind. It was a one shot to the other alley, and down to the end and we'd be home free. I looked back to Felipe and he nodded to me. I took in one last deep breath and began to move stealthily trying to make as little noise as I could while still being quiet.

We were almost to the alley when a walker had turned their head, and that caused a few others to turn our direction. Now it didn't matter if we were loud or quiet, all that mattered was getting out of there. I was now standing up straight with my arms tightly wrapped around the little girl, and I was sprinting with all my might. Once I made it to the fence I squeezed through the gap in the fence, and I looked back to see Felipe sending the boy in first because they wouldn't fit together.

Felipe put a finger to his lips, and motioned us to hid behind the brick wall. I rushed over to his and Kayden's side and squatted down still tightly holding onto Melane. I could hear the moaning and groaning of the walkers on the other side of the fence. They lingered there for what seemed to be a lifetime, but eventually began to fade. Once the moans and groans were gone we all stood up, and I put Melanie down. She rushed over to her brother, and he held her tight. We walked up to the doors, and G walked straight out to us.

I smiled at him, and he walked straight up to me and hugged me, "gracias. God bless your kind soul Valora."

"I hope you don't mind, but is it okay if we stay here for the night," I said after he pulled away from the hug, "kinda found these kids in the back of the store we went to. They need rest, and I don't feel like rushing them to come with us."

"Stay as long as you like," he smiled to me, and then he smirked, "your friends made it here. The redneck wasn't too happy with you making the decision to go get the medicine."

"Figures much," I sighed and looked back to the two little kids, "come on, these people are going to help you."

* * *

G and his men began to lead us to where this 'Mr. GIlberts' was supposed to be. Once we got into the room, lots of people were surrounded around something. It was when G got up there and they moved out of the way to reveal an old man who was shaking and his breathing was just short gasps of air. I kept my glare on G, and I wasn't too happy with him for sending Valora out there. Pisses me off that he would let her go. If it were me she'd just keep her ass back at camp, and we wouldn't be in this whole fucking mess.

"He's having a Asthma attack," G spoke up, "he needs his medicine or he'll die during one of his attacks."

"Can I have a word with you?" Rick said pulling G to the side, "we were in there ready to kill every last one of you. "

"Well, I'm glad you didn't go down that way," G said nodding to him.

Rick looked over to me and then back to G, "if it had. That blood would have been on our hands."

"Ours too, we woulda fought back," G said looking up to him, "wouldn't be the first time we've had to. Protect the food, the medicine, all that's left of it. These people, the old ones, the staff took off, just left 'em here to die."

The two of them stopped and Rick looked over to the man recovering from his Asthma attack. He looked up to me, and his lips formed a thin line on his face. He looked to Glenn, and then to his feet. Almost like he was mentally fighting with the things around him.

Then G spoke up, "Felipe and I were the only ones who stayed. "

"What are you, doctors?" Rick asked looking at him with confusion.

"Felipe's a nurse," G said looking up to him, "a special care provider. Me, I'm the custodian."

Rick looked at him with shock written all over his face. He shook his head and put his hand to the bridge of his nose with the other hand on his hip. He looked up to Glenn and I and then looked to Mr. Gilberts. He sighed, and grabbed onto G's arm and saying something quietly to him so I couldn't hear.

"This way," G said turning to the hallway we came from, and led us to one of the empty rooms.

Once we were all in the room I closed the door behind me. I looked to see Rick standing in front of the man, "what about the rest o' your crew?"

G paused for a second and rubbed his nose before talking, "the Vatos trickle in to check in on their parents, their grandparents. They see how things are and most decide to stay. It's a good thing too, we need the muscle. The people we've encountered since things fell apart, the worst kind, plunderers, the kind that take by force."

"That's not who we are," Rick said looking down to the man shaking his head.

"How was I to know that?" G asked, "your girl Valora was obviously not that way after we met, but I still didn't know about you guys yet. My people were attacked, and you show up with Miguel as hostage, appearances."

"Guess the world changed," Glenn muttered.

"No," G said looking at all of us in the room, "it's the same as it ever was. The weak get taken. So we do what we can here. Those Vatos work on the cars, talk about getting the old people outta the city, but most can't even get to the bathrooms by themselves, so that's just a dream. Still, it keeps the crew busy, and that's worth something."

"I call it stupid if ya ask me," I said and G looked to me with daggers in his eyes, "just get them out a few at a time. Can't be that fuckin hard."

"We tried that," G said looking up to me with his glare fading away, "lost my mama and Felipe's papa."

'Shoulda kept your mouth shut, fuckin idiot,' I yelled at myself in my head.

"The people here," G said and looked to his hands on his legs, "they all look to me for answers now. I don't even know why," he laughed looking up to Rick to meet his stare.

"Because they can," Rick said, and turned his gun so that G could grab it, and he went to the bag and took out about six more guns.

'This is fuckin stupid,' I said to myself.

"Do you know where Valora and your guy fucking headed?" I asked stepping up to G.

He looked up to me and shrugged a shoulder, "all I know is that she said she was going to a store on the outside of the city that she knew hadn't been taken over."

"Probably the one we went to when we came here," I said and brought my thumb to my mouth and bit on the nail, "if we go now-," I was cut off by Rick's hand.

"No Daryl," Rick said looking to me in the eyes, "we are going to stay here. She's a tough girl, she'll be back before nightfall I bet you."

"Fuck," I grumbled under my breath, "what if she-," I was cut off again by that stupid hand of his again.

"No Daryl," he said with his eyes locked on mine.

I didn't look away until I felt my anger rising faster, and I stormed out of the room to get the hell away from them. I needed to blow off some steam, and then I would kick his ass for not letting me go after her.

* * *

I smirked at what G was telling me on the way to the room my friends were being held in, "wow. Daryl must have gotten really pissed if he had to leave the room."

"Yeah," he said, "broke a wall with one of his punches. Can't press charges though."

I laughed, and he stopped in front of the door and looked to me and smiling. I returned the smile, and when he looked away I took in a deep breath. Once he opened the door all of the eyes in the room were turned to me. I shyly smiled and waved a hand.

"Whats up guys?" I nervously laughed as I looked over to the angry glare plastered on Daryls face.

"Thank god you made it back safe," Rick sighed in relief, and he stood taller now that the stress of worrying about me leave his shoulders.

"Yeah, glad I didn't save your ass only for it to get eaten by geeks a couple days later," Glenn walked up to me, and I pulled him into a hug.

"I wouldn't have died that easy," I laughed after he awkwardly hugged me back.

After I pulled away from the hug with Glenn I felt a glare burning in the back of my head, and I turned around to see the angry glare on his face. I nervously smiled at him, "hey, Daryl. How's it hangin?"

"I need to talk to you," he said walking up to me and putting a strong hand on the arm I had hurt and I cringed at the pain, "alone," he said looking up to the men in the room.

Everyone in the room gave me sad looks, and that only made me feel worse about the situation. I smiled at them, and they all turned to leave the room. Once they were out of the room, I was forcefully turned to face Daryl. He had both of his hands just above my elbows, and he was holding them tight.

"The fuck were you thinking!?" he shouted, "you could have gotten yourself killed for christ's sake!"

"I was thinking about the man who was suffering," I whispered looking at my feet trying to avoid his gaze.

"Look at me when I'm fucking talking to you," his voice was harsh, and I looked up but I still avoided his eyes, "in the eyes."

I slowly looked up to his eyes, and saw the hurt, confusion, and anger in them, "I-I'm sorry. I-I just couldn't let that man suffer, n-not like that."

His grip tightened and then loosened slightly, "did you even think about your son? The one back at camp probably fucking worried sick on whether or not you're coming back?"

"I-I-I wasn't thinking when I said that," I said and I began to look back to my feet but he ordered me to look back up at him.

"Do you have any fucking idea how worried you fucking made me?" he said looking at me with all of his anger now leaving his eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," I said.

He looked down and his grip on my arms loosened until his arms slid down to my hands, "did you get hurt at all?"

"Just hurt this arm catching Felipe before he almost fell down a seven story building," I said nodding my head to my right arm, "you grabbed it a little hard."

He eyed my arm before going back to my eyes. He sighed and shook his head and did something totally unexpected. He had wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me close to him while he buried his face in my hair. I froze for a second before realizing what was going on and I hugged him back.

"Don't ever fucking do that again," he breathed on my neck causing a shiver to run down my spine, and I nodded.


	13. Backup

I was being dragged out of the room by an angry Daryl. He was gripping tighter on my injured arm right above the elbow. My face scrunched up and hissed through my teeth showing that it hurt. He shut the door after we were out, and I was forced to face him.

"What the fuck?" Daryl said glaring down at me, "you're just going to get us all fucking killed now. That's two more mouths to feed now."

"They're kids Daryl," I said now glaring back up at him, "they were terrified. I wasn't going to just leave them back there."

"Well they can stay here then," Daryl said crossing his arms over his chest with his glare keeping me in place, "this place is secure enough."

"No," I said, my glare hardening, "I am not leaving these kids in the town. No matter how fucking safe this place seems. This whole fucking town is overrun by the dead," I leaned closer to him and whispered so those around couldn't hear, "they could be overrun by them at any moment. I'm not going to risk it."

His glare hardened on me and his eyes narrowed, "you're just going to get us all killed. Now we have to go back and get some more supplies to be able to feed them too."

"Then we'll fucking get the supplies and be on our merry way home," I snapped at him, and I looked over to Rick who was now walking out of the room, "hey Rick, so what's the plan?" I asked my tone completely changing from angry to normal.

"We are going to leave as soon as the kids are finished cleaning up," Rick said looking at me, "they're our responsibility now."

"I'll make sure they get out safe," I smiled at him, "they trust me, and on our way back they didn't talk unless spoken too."

"I hope they stay that way because we need to make another supply run so we can feed these kids as well," Rick said looking from me to the pissed off Daryl.

I nodded to Rick and he nodded back to me. I opened the door, and walked up to the kids. I smiled as they were sitting there with a nurse tending to a couple cuts they had. I sat down in the chair next to the bed they were both sitting on. The nurse turned her head and smiled at me before standing up and leaving.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked looking to them.

Kayden nodded his head and Melanie shyly looked from her brother to her feet, and finally to me, and she spoke up, "do you know where my mommy and daddy are?"

Kayden put a hand on her shoulder, "mommy and daddy are safe Melanie. They're in a building that is protected by big army men."

I smiled to the little boy and he looked at me sternly, "they are alive. When we were in the store you found us in, we were with their friends," I slowly nodded my head confusion now written all over my face, "I remember daddy saying something about a... C...DC?"

"The Center for Disease Control?" I asked and the boy nodded his head vigorously, "you're parents worked there?"

"Yup," he said, "they left us with their friends, and they said they would be back. I know the place they work is guarded by those army men!"

"We'll have to go there and make sure you find your parents," I smiled putting a hand on the boys shoulder, "but for now, you have to stick with me, okay?"

Kayden nodded his head vigorously and the little girl slowly looked up to me, "are you sure they're okay?"

"I'm positive they are okay," I smiled and I pushed away the hair on her forehead and planted a kiss on her forehead, "I'll make sure we find them."

"Thank you miss," she smiled at me.  
"Call me Valora," I smiled down at her and stood up and held my hand out, "lets go. Don't wanna keep my angry friend waiting any longer. He's pretty impatient."

The kids took my hands and I walked to the door only to have it swung open. I blinked my eyes to see Daryl standing there. I nodded to him, and he looked to me and then to the kids. He turned around and I followed him to where Rick and Glenn were standing at the front door. I smiled to them, and Rick walked up to me.

"We're gonna need to carry them," Rick said stopping in front of me and looking down to the kids.

"Hey Glenn," I smiled to the pizza boy as he turned his head to me, "mind carrying Kayden?"

"Not at all," he said walking up to me, and Kayden moved slightly behind me leg.

I smiled down to the boy and I went to his eye level, "Glenn's gonna take care of you. Don't worry he's not a bad man."

He looked from me, and then up to Glenn. He looked back to me before turning to Glenn so he could pick him up and place him on his hip. I smiled to Glenn and nodded as a thank you, and I stood up. I bent over to pick up the small Melanie, and let her rest at my hip.

"Have a safe trip," I turned to see Guillermo smiling at me, "I'll help you guys to the next two buildings but then you're on your own."

"Thank you so much Guillermo," I smiled walking up to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "I hope you guys are able to stay safe."

He nodded to me, "it's thanks to you and Felipe that Mr. GIlberts made it out. This is the least we can do to repay our debt we owe you."

I nodded to him one last time before turning around as the doors opened. I looked to Daryl who was tense, and had his crossbow in his arms. I sighed and looked to the little girl in my arms burying her head in my shirt. I smiled and rubbed the back of her head as we headed out the door. Everyone was through the fence, and Daryl stood there holding the fence open as wide as he could so I could get through without having to set Melanie down.

I smirked and looked up to him, "didn't know you were such a gentleman Dixon."

He squinted his eyes and looked down at me before mumbling, "shut up."

My smirk grew wider as he walked ahead of me a little. We quietly moved through the buildings, and so far so good. Not too many walkers that Daryl and Rick couldn't handle. I looked over to Glenn who was working up a sweat carrying the boy. I sadly smiled to him, but I was shocked when Daryl walked over to him.

"Give 'em to me," Daryl said holding his arms out, "I can carry him and you can use this to take out walkers," Daryl said handing the pizza boy a huge knife.

Glenn took the knife and set it on the table next to him before trying to hand Kayden over. Kayden wouldn't let go of his shirt, and he had his legs tightly wrapped around Glenn. I smirked at his actions. The little boy was not going to let go unless I told him that Daryl was safe.

"Its okay Kayden," I smiled to the boy who was staring at me, "he may get mad easily, but he won't hurt you."

The boy slowly let go of Glenn and he was handed over to Daryl. I smirked as Daryl awkwardly held the boy at first, but eventually settled the boy on his hip. I looked to Glenn who was now taking hold of the knife. I nodded to him, and I looked over to Rick who watched the whole scene unfold.

"Let's go," Rick said with a smirk as he walked over to the ladder edge of the building.  
Glenn went in front and led us to where we parked the car. We were walking under the street that was elevated above the ground. I was enjoying the silence until Glenn decided to break it with a joke towards Rick.  
"Admit it, you only came back to Atlanta for the hat," Glenn smirked to RIck and I couldn't help but smile.

"Don't tell anybody," RIck said looking back to Glenn.

Daryl glared to Rick, "you've given away half our guns and ammo," he looked forward as he adjusted the boy on his hip.

"No nearly half," Rick said looking at Daryl's back.

"For what? Buncha old farts who're gonna die off momentarily anyhow," Darl said walking a little faster, "seriously how long you think they got?"

"Daryl," I said my voice full of anger, "put Kayden down."

"What the hell?" he asked looking back to me and we all stopped.

"I don't want you talkin like that with kids around," I said glaring at him, "now put the boy down."

"Whatever," he said setting Kayden down and the boy rushed over to me.

I set Melanie down and put my hands on the boys cheeks, "don't worry. He's just being angry. Everything he's saying is just him getting his anger out."

Kayden nodded to me and I stood up. Both of the kids took my hands, and we all began to walk back to the van. Once we got there we all got in the van, and I sat there with a kid under each of my arms. Rick drove down the train tracks and he stopped about a mile up them. He cut the engine and looked back to me.

"We're gonna go make a run to get the supplies we need," Rick said looking from me to the kids who were now beginning to doze off, "we'll be back within the next thirty minutes. If we don't-"

I put a hand up, "I ain't leaving until ALL of you get back."

He sadly smiled at me, "thirty minutes," he said nodding to me and I waved my hand to him.

The three men left and I was left here with the kids to look after. I went and sat up in the front seat to get a better look at my surroundings. I sat there and reached for my knife, but it wasn't there. I looked to the back to see that my knife was nowhere in sight. I looked back to try and remember if I'd dropped it somewhere or left it.

"Shit," I grumbled and remembered that I had dropped it at the pharmacy.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked back to see Kayden sheepishly looking down, "I-I just wanted to see it. I didn't mean to break it though."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, and he pulled his hands out from behind him to reveal my knife split in two.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to break it. I just wanted to play hunter and I-I kinda got carried away," he said looking to the ground, and I grabbed the pieces of the knife and tossed them out the window.

The boy looked at me in shock and I pulled him into a hug, "I'm just glad you didn't get hurt." I said and I pulled away from the hug and tapped his nose with my finger, "next time you wanna play hunter come and ask me. I know the perfect person to play hunter with."

He smiled at me and then wrapped his small arms around my neck, "thank you Valora."

I hugged him back and smiled. He pulled away and I tousled his hair as he went to go sit back down with his sister. I warmly smiled to the boy, and looked back out the front of the windshield. I just then remembered about my pack. I looked around, then into the back, but it was nowhere in sight. I raised an eyebrow at the thing sticking out from under the passenger seat. I reached down and smirked at my pack that was there.

"Daryl found my hiding spot," I smirked picking up the pack. I reached in and pulled out another knife that looked the exact same as the one Kayden had broken. I smirked looking in the pocket with all on the cigarettes in it to see that quite a few of them were gone, "guess he got stressed when I wasn't at the retirement home."

I pulled out one of the packs and cut the plastic with my knife, and I reached into the pack to grab another lighter because I lost my other one. I put a cigarette to my lips and lit it and sighed. I put a knee up and rested my right arm on it, and I looked out to the window and began to count the wooden planks on the train tracks.

"Twenty-one... twenty-two... twenty-three," I said and then I felt a tap on my shoulder and I looked back to see Melanie.

"What are you counting?" she asked putting her hands together behind her back.

"I didn't know I was counting out loud, but I was counting the train tracks," I smiled looking back out the window.

I turned back to see her now sitting in the passenger seat looking up to me, "I can only count to ten."

I smiled down at her and I moved my body so I was facing her now, "I'll teach you how to count higher."

"Really?" she asked looking up to me with smiling eyes.

"Yup," I smiled, "so what comes after one?"

"Two," she said, and I kept telling her to go on, "three, four, five, six, s-seven, eight, n-nine, and ten!"

"Good!" I said smiling at her, "the next number is eleven," I said holding up two fingers making it look like the number eleven.

"Eleven," she said smiling at me holding up two fingers like I was.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a pen and paper, "you write it like this," I smiled handing her the paper, and she sloppily wrote the number and enthusiastically handed it to me, "just like that!"

She smiled at me and asked, "what's next?"

"Twelve," I smiled and wrote the number on the paper, "you write it like this."

She took the pen from me and wrote the number down, "it's like a one and two next to each other."

"Exactly, but it's worth more than one and two combined," I smiled at her.

"Really?" she asked with her mouth agape.

"Really," I smiled at her, and tossed my finished cigarette out the small opening at the top.

"What's next?" she smiled handing me the pen and notebook.

As I wrote the number down I smiled at her and said, "thirteen."

She quickly wrote it down making it more sloppy than if she wrote it slower. I smiled at her and said that it was great, and I taught her every number after that all the way up to twenty-three. She smiled at me and looked out to the train tracks and began counting. All the way up to twenty-three.

I smiled at her and tousled with her hair, "that's right, twenty-three train tracks."

I heard movement outside the car, and I looked to Melanie and she got the message and headed into the back of the truck next to her sleeping brother. I put my hand to the new knife in its holster and I held it in my hands as I slowly opened the car door. I quietly shut the door and turned around, and walked in the direction of the noise. I had second thoughts and walked backwards to the truck. I ran into something hard, and it wasn't the truck.

I pulled away and held my knife out about ready to stab the thing behind me when a familiar hand grabbed ahold of my wrist, "didn't think you were so pissed you'd try and kill me," that familiar voice chuckled.

"You asshole!" I shouted slapping his chest, "don't sneak up on my like that!"

"Couldn't help myself," he smirked opening the car door, "Glenn and Rick'll be here in a second."

I nodded my head and went to the passenger door and got it. After I closed the door I met Daryl's gaze as he was eyeing me from the corner of his eye. I smirked before I grabbed my bag and went into the back of the truck. I sat down next to Melanie who was pretending to be asleep next to her brother, and rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled at me while hugging me.

"Looks like I gotta find a new hidin place for my bag," I smirked looking up at Daryl in the rearview mirror, "someone got in my bag and took some of my smokes. To think I trusted you with my bag, I'm disappointed in you Dixon."

"Says the one who said they'd be right back after going for the bag o' guns," he shot back at me and that only made my smirk grow, and I looked to Melanie, "do you know your ABC's?"

"Only up to K," she said looking down slightly embarrassed about it.

"Okay," I smiled at her," tell me what you know."

"Okay," she smiled at me and took in a deep breath before talking, " K..."

"L," I smiled at her and wrote the letter down on a fresh page and handed it to her, "that's how you write the letter, think you can do it?"

She nodded her head and took the pen and sloppily wrote it next to it, "that's good, try and write it a couple of more times," I pointed next to her letter and she wrote it two more times that looked better than the first, "good."

She smiled at me and sag he ABC's all the way up to L, and paused waiting for me to tell her the next letter, "M," I said and took the pen and wrote it on the line under L, "try writing it.

She stuck her tongue out as she wrote the letter M, and then showed me, "this right?" she asked and I nodded my head.

"Next is-" I was cut off by Daryl plopping down in front of us.

"N," he said and took the pen and paper, and wrote something down, "this is how you write it."

I looked up to him and smirked, "didn't know you were the teachin type."

"Must not know a lot about me then," he smirked looking back at me.

She turned the notebook to him and asked if that was right and he smiled and nodded to her, "exactly. Looks just like it."

I smiled at him, and then I saw Kayden lift his head, and rub one of his eyes, "hey sleepy head," I smiled at him, "how was your nap?"

"I dreamed about being the terminator," he enthusiastically said sitting up wide awake, "it was so cool! I felt like the coolest guy on Earth shooting that huge gun!" he shouted throwing his arms up in the air to show us how big the gun was.

"Sounds like an amazing dream," I smiled holding a laugh back with my hand over my mouth.

"It was," he said putting his weight on his arms as he leaned towards us, "I was protecting all of us. You were my backup," he said looking up to Daryl, and I smiled at Daryl.

"Long as I get first shot, then I'll be your backup," Daryl said smirking down at the boy and tousled his hair.

Rick and Glenn hopped in the front seat and they turned back to look at the four of us sitting together. Rick raised an eyebrow at me and I shook my head. He shrugged his shoulders to Glenn and Rick started the engine and we headed back to camp. When we got there Daryl hopped out of the back and helped the kids down. He smirked at me as he helped me down. I returned the smirk and walked over to the two kids and took their hands as we headed over to where everyone was anxiously waiting.

When my eyes met Stevens I smiled at him. I saw his eyes tear up as he rushed over to me and hugged me. I wanted to wrap my arms around him, but the two kids held tighter to my hands. Steven pulled away just now noticing the kids who were shyly hiding behind my legs.

"Kayden, Melanie, this is Steven," I smiled squatting down to their eye level, "he's my son, you can trust him."

When I said that Steven was down squatting in front of me and he held his hand out to the boy, "nice to meet you Kayden," he smiled and the boy shyly held his small hand out.

"Hi, Steven," Melanie quietly said behind my back.

"What a pretty young lady," he smiled at her.

She buried herself in my hair more, and I was surprised to see Kayden standing in front of his sister, "mister you better back off. You're way too old for her."

I tried my hardest not to laugh, but I failed and I burst into laughter. I was soon followed by the camp, and we were all laughing. This left Kayden with a confused expression while looking back to me. I smiled at him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I think that Steven won't be hitting on your sister," I smiled at him trying to hold my laughter back by biting the inside of my cheek.

"Good," he said with a nod of his head, and I erupted into a laughing fit again.

Once everyone was settled in Amy and Andrea were making their way up from the lake with tons of fish over their shoulder. I smiled really big at them and rushed over to them.

"Holy crap," I smiled at the fish, "when I heard you were good at fishing, I didn't think it would be this good."

"Us either," Andrea said adjusting the fish on her shoulder, "now lets get to cookin them, I'm starving!"

We walked over to the fire and on the way Merle walked up to me and smirked, "hey sugar tits," he walked up next to me, "got any smokes?"

I polled my bag off my shoulder and pulled out three packs and handed them to him, "I'm feeling nice today," I smiled up at him, "don't you dare go through them all."

"Told ya I ain't makin no more promises," he said walking back to his tent.

After the fish was gutted and on the fire, the whole camp began drifting to the fire. It was already dark by the time the fish was ready to eat. Kayden and Melanie sat in front of me on the ground as I was sitting next to Steven on a log. Merle and Daryl were sitting on the log to my right, and were digging into their portions of the fish. I looked down to the two kids who were eating their fish like it was their first time eating in months.

I put a hand on the boys head and smiled at him as he turned around and smiled up at me with his mouth full of food. I laughed and shook my head, and looked up to every adult savoring the delicios taste of the fish. Not like I wasn't doing that as well.

"Dale, this had been bugging me for some time," Morales spoke up and moved his hand to him, "that watch."

"What about it?" Dale asked looking at him watch.

"I see you every day, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass," Morales laughed.

Jacqui smiled and looked up from her plate, "I've been wondering myself."

T-dog laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist, "yeah, what's the point? Hasn't the world been stopped for quite some time?" T-dog laughed taking a bite of his fish.

"Time, it's important to keep track isn't it?" he said and his eyes moved to Andrea, "the days at least. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here."

She shook her head and laughed taking a drink of her beer, and Dale spoke "I like, what um, a father said to son when he gave him his watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my fathers before me; I give it to not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then, and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'"

Everyone shared glances to each other and then Amy spoke up, "you are so weird," earning laughs from everyone.

"Its not me its Faulkner. William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing," he shrugged his shoulders and everyone went back to eating quietly.

Then Amy stood up and Andrea turned to her and asked, "where are you going?"

"I have to pee," she shook her head, "jeez, you try and be discreet around here," that earned laughs from everyone.

I stood up and wiped off my hands, "I gotta go too," I sighed walking out of the circle, "you have to go Melanie?" I asked turning to the girl already to her feet and at my side, "I'll take that as a yes."

We walked up to the RV, and Amy was groaning when we got there, "out of toilet paper," she sighed when she was still in the bathroom.

"I'll go get some," I smiled, and I heard a muffled thank you from the bathroom.

I walked out of the RV and shouted, "outta toilet paper," and I heard laughter, but then I heard a noise next to me.

A walker had come up behind the open RV door and was now holding my arm. I screamed as I was pushing at its head keeping it far enough away it couldn't get a bite. The walker now pushing its head towards my face, and I tripped over my feet and it came falling on top of me.

"Shit," I grumbled, and then the walker fell limp on me.

Daryl was standing there with a knife in the back of the walkers head. He pulled his knife out of its head and helped me to my feet. Once he pulled me up he shoved me into the RV and slammed the door shut. I looked in to see Melanie in the back of the RV wide eyed in the corner.

I rushed over to her and hugged her shaking form, and I whispered, "it's okay," then Amy burst out of the bathroom to see that we were sitting in the back.

"What happened?" she asked rushing over to us.

"Walkers, invaded the camp," I said looking up to her, "Darly shoved me in here and shut the door."

It was then that the door was swung open and all of the women and children were piling in. I made my way to the door leaving Melanie with Amy, and I made my way outside. I quickly pulled out my knife taking out a walker trying to get me. I looked to see Daryl and Merle near their tents taking out walkers. Shane was popping off rounds in his shotgun. I guarded the RV from all of the walkers heading towards it.

The last walker I took out had taken my knife with it when I couldn't get it out. I pulled out my gun and shot the walkers in the head. I was about to shoot a walker that was a little too close for comfort, but the dreaded clicking noise came. My heart stopped as the walker now had me up against the wall of the RV. I closed my eyes and nothing came. I peeked one eye open to see the walker falling to the ground with a bolt in its head.

Steven came running up to me and pulled me into a hug, "thank god you're okay," I breathed out.

Once we were sure that there were no more walkers all of the women and children piled out of the RV and ran to their loved ones. I wiped the sweat off my brow, and I felt my legs got out at the impact of something hitting them. I hit the ground with a loud thud, and I looked to see that Melanie and Kayden were the ones who took me down. They had tears in their eyes, and they looked terrified.

I warmly smiled at them and pulled them off my legs, and into a hug, "it's okay, we're safe now. It's okay, I'm not going anywhere."

They cried onto my shoulder, and I just hugged them until their sobs had calmed down. Once they pulled away I wiped away the tears falling from their eyes, and smiled at them. I nodded to them and standing up. I looked around to see the bodies of those who were laughing with us not to long ago. I held the two kids close to my leg, and I covered my mouth with one hand.

"Dear god," I said looking down at the bodies lying around, and I felt a tear slip out of one of my eyes.

I felt strong arms make their way around me, and pulled me into their chest. I kept my eyes on the bodies lying around, and the tears fell from my eyes without a sound. I looked up to see Daryl staring hard at Carol making her way to her tent letting screams of agony leave her mouth. I assumed the worse had happened to her husband, and I hid my head in Daryls chest and he put a hand on the back of my head.

"It's okay," he whispered, "don't worry. I won't let anything happen to you."


	14. He Ain't A Walker

That night I didn't get a wink of sleep. I was sitting in the back of the truck with Kayden and Melanie snuggled close to me. Daryl sitting at the back of the truck keeping watch for any other walkers. Steven was 'asleep' in front of me, every once and awhile I'd hear a sniff come from him. I wanted to go over and comfort my only son, my son who's taken care of my when I was down, the son who I raised and loved. He told me he was fine, even though he had tears running down his face as he was kneeled down next to a girl who looked to be about his age. She'd gotten a huge chunk of her neck taken out by a walker. Steven told me how he had tried to protect her, but when he told her to make a run for the RV the walker took her down.

The two kids, one eight and the younger one being only five and a half. These two kids had witnessed this happen to the people their parents entrusted them too. They had seen it before, but to them the second time around was much worse. It had scared them to the point they wouldn't move, and Daryl had to help me carry them to the truck. I rubbed the kids' faces with my thumb, making intricate shapes. The two small children who had once been so innocent, were now expected to act like adults now.

"It's sad," I sighed catching Daryl's attention, "that kids at this age have to live in a world like this now."

Daryl looked to me with one eye opened more than the other, "fuckin shame," was all he said.

I sadly smiled at him, "Merle okay?"

"Did some more drugs after this," he said kicking the dirt on the ground, "pissed off that a walker was grabbin his stash he killed the fucker and left."

I lightly laughed, "sounds like somethin he would do."

It was his turn to laugh softly, "yeah, good ol Merle."

"Yeah," I sighed looking to the roof of the truck.

The rest of the night Daryl and I didn't speak much. Steven finally gave up on his act of sleeping and sat up to join our silent sitting. I kept at rubbing the kids faces with my thumb, and Steven eyed my bag.

"Take a pack already," I sighed smiling at him, "this isn't going to be a regular thing though."

He nodded to me before reaching over and grabbing my pack for the cigarettes, "might become one sooner or later."

"Then I expect you to get your own from now on," I sadly smiled at him, "consider that one an early birthday present."

He smiled up at me, "thanks mom. Couldn't ask for more."

I smiled back at him as he lighted the cigarette he had in his mouth. Once it was lit he took a long drag of it before breathing it out with the cigarette resting at the right side of his mouth. He held the pack to me and I shook my head. Daryl turned to Steven smelling the smoke, and he nodded to the lighter in Stevens lap. Steven tossed it to him, and Daryl pulled out the pack in his front pocket. Once he lit his cigarette he tossed it back to him.

The next morning the kids woke up right when the sun was just barely rising. I smiled at the two of them both rubbing one of their eyes as they yawned. I patted both of their heads, and they sadly looked up to me. I felt my heart break at the sad looks on their faces, and I pulled the two of them into a hug. They both wrapped their small arms around me as they buried their faces in my shirt.

"You guys wanna go swimming?" I asked smiling at them.

The both looked to each other and nodded vigorously nodded their heads smiling big at me. I felt all of the sadness lift from the air as it was filled of Steven's and my laugher.

"C'mon," I smiled, "lets head out while nobody else is there yet."

I hopped out of the truck with the help of Daryl, and helped Melanie to the ground. I took her small hand in mine and Kayden stood next to Daryl staring up at him shyly. Daryl looked down to the boy, and he held his hand out looking the other way. Kayden smiled really big and put his hand in Daryls. I smirked at the 'tough guy' now holding the hand of an eight year old. He sent a glare to me, and we made our way down the hill.

"Okay," I smiled, "boys change over there, and girls over here," I said pointing over behind a boulder and taking Melanie over to boulder.

I helped her out of her pants, and shirt. I took off my tank top that was under my t-shirt and made it into a makeshift bikini top. I took off my pants leaving on my bra and underwear. I smiled at the little girl and restrapped my knife to my leg. I took her hand and we stepped out from behind the boulder, and I caught Daryl looking at me up and down. I smirked at the pink tint covering his tan features and I headed to the water.

I dipped a foot in and pulled it out immediately, "cold," I mumbled, and then Melanie was running into the water.

"Cold!" she shouted running back out rubbing her arms.

I laughed and took her hand, "let's do this quickly so we can get used to it," I said picking her up and resting her at my hip.

I slowly walked into the water, cringing as the cold water crept its way up my legs. I was now in the water up to my waist and Melanie was in the water up to her legs. I smiled at the girl who was laughing at Kayden who was just now stepping in the water. I smiled at Daryl who was still fully clothed and standing on the sand.

"C'mon Daryl," I smiled up at him, "join us!"

"Yeah Daryl!" Kayden excitedly shouted, "we can play shark!"

"The hell is shark?" Daryl asked raising an eyebrow at the kid.

"Whoever is the shark has to go after the people who aren't shark, and catch them!" he shouted plashing the water, "then they turn into your shark minions. Last person to get caught wins!"

I walked up to not so deep end, and se Melanie down, and I smirked up to Daryl, "c'mon Daryl, you can't leave the kid hanging."

He eyed me for a minute his eyes slowly lowering down, and then went back up and he grumbled, "fine."

"I'm the shark," I said flashing my teeth at the kids, and they squealed and ran in the water causing it to splash around. I walked slowly towards them letting them get a head start, and they ran farther. I made sure to walk in the deeper parts so they wouldn't accidentally wander too far. I closed in on them, and Melanie hid behind Kayden.

I felt tight arms wrap around my waist and I squealed, "I'm the shark hunter," I heard Daryl's voice in my ear and I flailed around.

"No!" I said, "I've been caught!"

Kayden and Melanie began to cheer, and Daryl whispered in my ear, "looks like today's my lucky day. Finally caught somethin good."

I let out a laugh before I turned around and wrapped my arms around his shoulders, "caught ya! You're my shark minion now!"

Both of the kids squealed as they ran closer to shore. I smirked at Daryl before he let me go and we slowly walked up to the two kids. Once their feet his the sand that wasn't wet they didn't move. I was about to step on the dry sand but Kayden held his hand up.

"Sharks can't go on land," Kayden said.

I smirked before picking up the little brown-haired boy and pretended to chomp on his stomach, "this shark can go on land."

I set the boy down, and I looked over to see Melanie seeking cover behind a rock farther from the water. Daryl was standing in the water smirking at me and Kayden. I looked to Kayden, and he smiled at me before going over and tackling his sister. I looked back to Daryl before laughing at the two kids.

"This is a great way to start out a morning," I heard someone up the hill whistle, and I knew that voice anywhere, "hey lookin good sugar tits."

I raised my hand with my middle finger up and he laughed, "when and where honey?"

I shook my head and laughed before walking over to the two kids still messing around with each other, "c'mon guys, lets go wash up now," the two kids raced each other to the water and I couldn't help but chuckle.

Once we finished changing back into our clothes we headed up the hill. We saw that everyone was slowly making their way out of their tents. Most of the men in the group were carrying walkers to a pile of wood over in an open area of the camp. I cringed my nose at the smell of it, and looked to the two kids also cringing at the smell. I looked over to see Sophia sitting with Carl, and Morales' kids.

I squatted down next to the kids and patted their backs, "why don't you guys go play with Sophia and Carl?"

The looked from me to the kids then back to me, "don't worry, I won't be far away. If you need me just holler."

They nodded their heads before heading over to the other kids. I stood up and smiled at Carl and Sophia letting the two young ones join in on whatever game they were playing. I looked over to see Daryl with a pickaxe and heading over to where a walker was on the ground. I saw his chest rise as he took in a deep breath before hitting the walker in the face. As he pulled the pickaxe out of its head he headed over to another walker. T-dog and Glenn were now carrying the walker over to the pile they were creating.

I walked over to them and pulled my lighter out of my pocket and handed it to T-dog, "least I can do to help you guys."

T-dog nodded to me and took the lighter and turned it on and tossed it to the pile of walkers, "that's gonna smell fucking disgusting," T-dog grumbled walking over to the walker that had its head smashed by Daryl.

I walked over to Andrea and Amy who were sitting next to each other by the fire with Rick and Shane standing. Lori walked over after talking to her son about not wandering off. I slowly made my way over to them, and stood next to Rick. Dale was standing next to Andre and Amy with his hands on his hips as he looked over the hill. I smiled at him, and he returned the smile and nodded to me.

"No!" I turned around to see Glenn standing over Daryl and Morales, "we don't burn them! We bury them. Understand?"

I sadly looked to Glenn and held back some tears that were wanting to fall. Daryl looked over to me, and we had made eye contact and I nodded over to where Glenn was pointing. He shook his shoulders and him and Morales carried the body of someone I hadn't had the chance to meet over to the row of the people who had lost their lives last night. Daryl looked over to me one more time and I sadly smiled to him and mouthed 'thank you.'

He just shook his head and walked away to another walker, grabbing his pickaxe on the way. I walked over to Jacqui and I told her I'd help her with one. I looked over to Jim who was sweating more than the rest of us. I nudged Jacqui and she looked up to me and I moved my eyes to Jim, and I noticed some blood on his shirt.

"Jim?" I asked and he moved his head to me, "are you hurt?"

"No," he said and looked down at his shirt, "just some blood from a walker."

"That bloods fresh," Jacqui said looking up and we moved closer to him while we stood up, "did you get bit?"

He looked around and then whispered, "please don't tell anyone."

"Jim got bit!" Jacqui shouted and everyones attention was now on the scrawny man.

Jim backed up as all of the men began to surround him, "I'm okay. I'm okay."

Daryl came up with his pickaxe on his shoulder, and said, "show it to us," when Jim didn't answer he got closer putting his other hand on the pickaxe.

"Daryl stop," I said standing in front of Jim, "you're scaring him, now back up."

Daryl eyed me and then put his other hand down and I turned around to face Jim, "can I see your scratch? I just want to clean it to make sure it's not infected."

Jim slowly looked from me to all of the members in camp, "I-I'm okay, p-please don't kill me."

"We're not going to kill you Jim," I said smiling at him, and held a hand out, "let's go get your scratch cleaned up. We don't want anymore bacteria getting into it."

He eyed my hand and then to everyone on edge around us. He slowly walked towards me and took my hand. I walked him over to where the truck was, and Daryl was following closely behind. I shook my head, and told Jim to sit on the edge of the truck as I went to get my first-aid kit from my bag.

I hopped down and opened the first-aid kit, "okay Jim, I'm gonna need you to take your shirt off so I can clean your cut," I smiled at him, and he looked to Daryl before gulping and taking off his shirt to reveal three long scratches on his chest, "ouch, looks like that really hurt. This's gonna sting at first," I warned him before applying the rubbing alcohol.

He cringed at first and I felt his muscles tense under the touch. After using the rubbing alcohol I told him to life his arms so I could wrap the bandages around him. I smiled at him, and told him he was all better now.

"The fuck was that about?" Daryl whispered pulling me to the side, "he coulda taken you out."

"He's not a fucking walker right now," I said staring into his blue eyes, "he's alive right now, and he's going to be that way until he fucking dies."

I tore my arm away from him and walked over to Jim helping him over to the camp. I smiled at everyone and said, "just a little scratch, nothing too big. Just some rubbing alcohol and bandages and he's good as new."

Everyone was eyeing us both as I walked up to everyone and I smiled at Jim, "hey Jim, do you think you could run over and get my pack for me? I forgot something," I smiled at him as he nodded and headed to the truck, my smile turned into a frown, "why the hell are you looking at him like he's some kind of fucking animal?"

"He was bi-" Shane started but I cut him off.

"No he wasn't he just had three scratches on his chest. Nothing more, nothing less," I said glaring at everyone, "he is no fucking walker right of this moment. If those scratches came from a walker, and he ends up turning we'll deal with it later. But right now, Jim is as much human as any of us right here," I sternly said my frown now turning into a smile, "now I want everyone to be nice to each other. No fighting, at all."

I walked over to meet Jim halfway and I smiled at him, "thanks Jim, just silly me forgetting my stuff," I laughed and patted his shoulder, "you take care now."

I walked over to where the kids were and pulled out some coloring books I had found at the pharmacy store in Atlanta, and I heard Rick say to the group, "nobody ever, piss Valora off again," and they all nodded.

After I gave the kids the coloring books and a couple packs of crayons I walked up to the group of adults who were now going to be careful not to piss me off, "so where are we heading now? This place is no longer safe after what happened last night."

Rick nodded his head, "any suggestions?"

"Kayden and Melanie's parents work at the CDC," I said rubbing my chin, "we could go there, if their parents are in there they should probably let us in. They also said that the military was there and keeping the place safe."

Rick nodded his head, but Shane shook his head, "if there's any chance at the military being out there, Fort Benning would be our best shot."

"Yeah," Lori said, "but that's a hundred miles in the opposite direction."

"The CDC would be our best bet," I spoke up, "if we go there, and if it turns out that Jim is infected, he could get help."

Daryl shook his head and looked to Rick, "you go lookin for aspirin, do what you need to do. Somebody just needs to have some balls and take care of this damn problem!" Daryl shouted going up to Jim with the pickaxe.

"Daryl!" I shouted running over and standing in front of Jim.

Rick was behind Daryl with his gun cocked and ready to fire. Shane was standing in between Daryl and me. I was panting not because I was tired, but because I was scared.

"We don't kill the living," Rick said.

Daryl's eyes met mine, and he turned around to Rick, "that's funny, comin from a man who just put a gun to my head."

Shane spoke up, "we may disagree on some things, but not on this. You put it down. Go on."

Daryl glared at Rick before turning his head to Shane and me then slamming the pickaxe into the ground and stomping off. I turned around and looked to the scared look on Jim's face. I smiled at him and helped him stand up.

"Where are you taking me?" Jim asked as Rick took ahold of the skinny man.

"Somewhere safe," Rick said now leading him into the RV.

Daryl stormed over to get his pickaxe and when he looked up from grabbing it he made eye contact with me. I looked at him with no emotion and he walked over to where Carols tent had been. I watched as he smashed the pickaxe into one of the bodies heads, and he was about to go to the next one but he was stopped by Carol. I saw him hand her the pickaxe and smashing into the walkers head. I assumed it was her husbands body because she was sobbing while she hit the body in the head multiple times.

After she had had enough with it she walked away with a hand over her mouth, and Daryl took the pickaxe and drove it into the last body over there. I turned to see Merle walking up to me, and I sighed really not wanting to deal with him right now. That was until I saw Steven being dragged by his wrist behind him when I was now at full attention.

"Your little bitch was in my stash," Merle said shoving my son towards me.

My mouth was agape and I pushed so Steven was standing straight in front of me, "is what he says true?"

He slowly looked away and I swatted the top of his head, "I thought you said you were done with that!" I shouted now getting the attention of the entire camp, "do you have any fucking clue what that stuff does to your brain Steven!?"

"Mom," Steven said but I stopped him.

"Not another word young man," I said looking up at him, "I thought you were done with that, but I guess I was wrong."

"Mom, I-I'm sorry," he said, "he only caught me peeking through it. I didn't take any of it!"

I stared up at him with hurt in my eyes, the feeling of losing your trust in someone, "you better work your ass of trying to earn my trust again young man," I said poking his chest before storming off to the truck to calm down.

Once I got to the truck my heart was racing and my breathing came in short breaths. I leaned against the bumper and put my thumb and index finger to the bridge of my nose and took three deep breaths. My breathing was steady now and I wasn't shaking with anger anymore. I jumped slightly when I heard a noise, but I relaxed when I saw that it was Melanie checking up on me.

"Hey sweetie," I said smiling and crouching down to her height, "what's up?"

"Why were you yelling at Steven?" she asked looking up at me with her huge brown eyes.

I sighed and sadly smiled at her, "Steven got caught trying to take something that wasn't his. So he got in trouble for it. I probably shouldn't have gotten that mad though."

"Stealing is bad," she said furrowing her eyebrows together, "does Steven always do this?"

"No," I sighed and realized why he had done it now, and I had probably really hurt him by shouting at him like that, "he was just confused. He didn't know what to do. I shouldn't have yelled at him like that though."

"Then say you're sorry to him," she smiled at me, "mom always told me to do that if I did something on accident," that reminded me of how Kayden kept apologizing to me about the knife he accidentally broke.

"You're right," I smiled and I picked her up resting her at my hip, "let's go say sorry to him."

Once we headed back I caught everyone was following after the Dixon's blue truck up the hill. I sighed and realized what was happening as we caught up to the group. I sighed as we walked up the hill and I smiled to Melanie who went all shy again. Once we reached the top Daryl was arguing with Shane and Rick about burning the bodies.

I saw Steven stand up, "we don't burn those who have been our friends. We bury those who we once knew, and sat around the fire and laughed at each others jokes. We are human and we need time to mourn them. Doing this, this small little deed, lets us know that we haven't lost our fucking humanity," Steven said now glaring daggers at Daryl, "otherwise, were just as much like them," he finished off turning around and standing over by Dale.

Dale put a hand on his shoulder and they nodded to each other. I looked to Daryl who was looking to me for just a second before going to the car and getting one of the bodies with Merle's help. I held my breath and watched as the two of them put the body into the empty hole, and as Rick and Shane began to cover the body with dirt. They did the same for all of the bodies in the trunk of the truck, and there was one more body left. I looked over to Steven who tensed up, and then I saw his face go serious as he walked over to the trunk.

He took the last body and held her in his arms as he carried her bridal style over to the last hole. He gently set her in the hole, and smiled down at the girl. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek before he stood up and looked to Rick with seriousness in his eyes. Rick handed the shovel over to him, and they both shared a nod before the girl with the crazy red curls were now being covered in dirt. I held back my tears as I watched the determined look on my sons face as he buried the girl he must have tried to protect, but wasn't able to.

I tensed up when I felt an arm on my shoulders, and I looked to see Daryl looking to me. I looked into those blue orbs of his, and saw an apologetic look in them. I leaned into him letting him know I forgave him, and his grip on my shoulder tightened as we watched my son finish burying the girl.

He backed up and stood on the opposite side of the circle and looked to me. I sadly smiled at him, and he returned it with a smile that had caused a tear to escape. I took a deep breath, and looked back to Rick who took a deep breath. He removed his sheriff's hat before speaking.

"These people," he began, "were really great. I-I know that this is going to be hard. The path ahead of us, harder. But we will all manage somehow. I promise you all this, that I will do my best to keep the rest of us alive."

He looked up from where he was looking at the grave where Steven just buried the girl, "would anyone, like to say anything about the people who have died here today?"

I saw Steven take a deep breath before speaking up, "Jessica," he smiled, "she had the most beautiful smile. Most amazing laugh too. When you went to Atlanta, and I was stuck here waiting for you to get back I began to talk to Jessica. She was the funniest girl ever. She made me laugh every time she cracked a joke, and I got her to laugh a lot too. I think I might have fallen in love with her at the moment she first smiled at me," he said taking in a jagged breath, "the moment I saw that walker take a bite into her arm," he paused and let a tear fall from his face, "I-I knew, th-that I had lost someone I had cared about. Someone I found in this world, that I had cared about, and tried to protect, but I couldn't protect her," he said wiping away the tears that were now pouring out, "I know that a strong man shouldn't cry, b-but I-I-" he stopped when he felt Kayden who was tugging at his pants.

"Sometimes it's okay to cry," the little boy said sadly smiling up to him, "because then that let's you know that you'll be able to smile in the end."

Everyone went quiet at the words of wisdom came from the small eight year old boys mouth. Daryl tightened his grip on my arm, and I leaned in closer to him. Steven stared down at the little boy, and he picked him up and rested the boy on his hip.

"You're right," he smiled to the boy, "I'll smile in the end, remembering how lucky I was to meet a girl like her."

Everyone sadly smiled to Steven, and everyone began to leave slowly on their own. I stood there until Steven had looked up and made eye contact with me. He nodded to me, and I was about to speak to him but he held up a finger. He shook his head and sadly smiled at me before taking Kayden back to the camp. I still stood there with Melanie on my hip and Daryl's arm still wrapped around mine.

I set Melanie down and said, "go catch up with Steven, I'll bet you he'll help you color some of your pictures," I said and she took off running up to Steven.

I smiled at her, and Daryl turned me around to face him, "look, I- uh," he started but I held a finger up and put it to his lips.

"Just shut up," I said looking up at him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down to crash our lips together in a passionate kiss.

Once he pulled away he rested his forehead on mine and looked into my eyes, "I'm still sticking to my promise."

I smiled up at him and pulled him in for another kiss.


	15. Hero

Daryl smiled down at me and rubbed the side of my face with his thumb, "c'mon, let's go catch up with everyone else."

I nodded my head as he walked past me holding my hand and pulling me with him. I couldn't help but smiled like an idiot. Once we were in the sight of people I made my smile go away. I looked over to Rick who was standing with his wife and kid. Carol holding her little girl closer, and Morales and his family were all huddled together in a tight embrace. I sadly smiled to everyone and Daryl walked me over to where Steven was sitting with Melanie and Kayden.

I put a hand on his shoulder and smiled to the two little kids, "hey guys, whatcha coloring?" I asked sitting down next to Melanie.

"I'm coloring a picture of us," Melanie said while still focusing on her drawing.

"Can I see it?" I asked leaning a bit closer but she covered the picture with her hands.

"It's not done yet," she smiled at me, "you can see it when I'm done."

I smiled at her and put me hand on her shoulder, "okay, but I can already tell that it'll be a great picture."

I then looked over to Kayden who was standing next to Daryl who was over by T-dog. I saw him tug on his pants, and Daryl looked down to the little boy. Kayden gave him a piece of paper that was behind his back. Daryl squatted down and took the paper. I saw him smirk and look up to the little boy and tousled his hair. I smiled over at him when he looked over to me after Kayden began running back.

"What did you give Daryl?" I asked smiling at Kayden who looked really excited.

"I drew a picture of my dream I had! Remember the one where I was the terminator and he was my backup!" the little boy shouted, "I'll draw another one to give to you!"

I laughed and I smiled over at Steven, "hey, how you feeling?" I asked putting a hand on his arm.

He looked from my hand and sadly looked up to me, "like shit, but I'll feel better sometime later."

I looked over to see Dale, Lori, Rick and Shane standing around the front of the RV. Shane kept looking fron Rick to Lori while he spoke. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could tell that Shane wasn't all that happy with Rick. Then RIck and Shane left the conversation, and Dale followed behind them. I was going to get up to talk to Lori but I was stopped by someone tugging at me sleeve.

I looked back to see Melanie looking at the picture in her hand before she set it down in front of me, "see there's you," she said pointing to a girl with black hair, "there's Steven, and me and Kayden," she said pointing out everyone else but she left one person out.

"Who's that?" I asked pointing to the stickfigure that was holding my hand.

"That's Mr. Daryl," she smiled at me.

I smiled at her and I pulled her into a hug, "I love it," I smiled at her.

"Look!" Kayden said shoving his picture in my face, "this is what I drew Daryl! Isn't it awesome!?"

I smiled at looked at the picture. Kayden was holding a sloppily drawn gun, while who I assumed to be Daryl with the sunglasses and a gun with a cigarette hanging from his mouth stood behind him. There were two girl stick figures standing in the back holding each other with speech bubbles that said they were screaming. I smiled at the other man standing to Kayden's right.

"Who's this guy?" I smiled pointing to the other man, "I don't remember another guy being at your side."

"I put Steven in there!" he said smiling at Steven, "he's also my backup in case I get tired of killing the bad guys."

I smiled and laughed a little, "well, you know you can trust your backup with your life."

He nodded his head and put the picture on my lap, "you can keep the picture. I can make more so you get to keep the second one ever made."

"I'm grateful that I get to keep one of the first few additions to your artwork," I smiled at him, and he went to go back to coloring.

It was then that everyone began to make their way to the fire. We were sitting close enough that we didn't have to move. I sat there and I saw Rick and Shane approaching the fire with their guns. I sighed thinking that this was going to be a debate on whether we were going to the CDC or Fort Benning.

Shane spoke first as he stood there looking at everyone, "I've been thinking about Rick's plan. Now look there are, uh, no guarantees either way. I'll be the first one to admit that. I've known this man a long time, and I trust his instincts. I say the most important thing here is we need to stay together. So for those of you that agree, we leave first thing in the morning. Okay?"

Everyone made glances between one another before everyone nodded their heads. I sighed looking over to Daryl who was standing over by his tent with Merle. I sadly smiled before looking back to the kids who acted like nothing had happened within the last few hours. I smiled at the kids who were fighting on who got to use the pink crayon next.

Later that night I took watch, but I knew it was a bad idea because I didn't get any sleep the night before. I was sitting on top of the RV when I heard the sound of feet hitting the ladder. I turned around to see Daryls head pop up over the roof and I smiled at him. He sat there and took off his shoes before walking up to me and sitting down on the roof next to me.

"Why're you keepin watch?" he asked looking up at me from the corner of his eyes, "you didn't get any sleep last night. Must be tired as hell."

I sighed and looked down to him, "yeah, but I just don't think I'll be able to sleep."

"You look like you'll pass out any second," he said looking back to the dirt road, "you should go to bed."

"I'll be fine," I sighed and looked to my hands, "I'll be fine."

"No you ain't gonna be fine unless you go get some rest," he said now standing up, "you need to have enough energy for tomorrow in case something happens."

I slowly looked up to see his eyes full of concern and anger, and I stood up, "okay," I smiled up at him and pulled him into a hug, "night Daryl."

"Night," he said before pulling away from the hug and I went to the ladder.

I kicked my shoes down, and slowly made my way down the ladder. I began to walk back to the truck and I smiled waving over my shoulder to Daryl. He only nodded to me as he went to sit in the lawnchair. Once I got to the truck Melanie and Kayden were snuggled up with Steven, and I smiled at the three of them. I went to my blanket and got under and fell asleep.

The next morning I was woken up when Melanie had to go to the bathroom. I groaned sitting up and helped her out of the truck. I took her to the trees thinking about Jim being in the RV. She went to the bathroom, and we didn't run into anything as we made our way back. I decided I wanted to go down to the lake to at least wash my face. I looked up to the RV to see Daryl eyeing me on what I was doing. I waved to him and pointed to the river, and I saw him slightly nod his head.

"C'mon Melanie," I smiled as she grabbed my hand, "let's go wash up."

She skipped next to me as we made our way down the hill. When we got down there I went to the water and splashed in in my face. I sighed at the cold feeling on my face and wiped away the water on my shirt. I looked over to see Melanie doing the same thing I was. I smiled and put a hand on her head.

"Kay, let's get back," I smiled standing up and we walked back to camp to see everyone standing in a circle.

Shane spoke out to everyone, "everybody listen up. Those of you with C.B.'s we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? You got a problem and you don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions."

Morales stepped forward and stuttered, "we- we're, uh, we're not going."

Then his wife spoke up, "we have family in Birmingham. We want to be with our people."

Shane shook his head and said, "you go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back."

"We'll take the chance," Morales said smiling at everyone, "I've gotta do what's best for my family."

"You sure?" Rick asked putting his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, we talked about it last night," Morales said putting an arm on his wife's shoulders.

"Alright," Rick said bending down to get him a gun, and he walked over and handed it to him, "box is half full."

"Thank you all for everything," his wife said as Lori walked up to her and pulled her into a hug

I looked to see all of the kids running up to Morales' kids and hugging each other. I felt Melanie's hand leave mine as she ran up to the kids and hugged them. I felt myself wanting to cry, but held it back as I walked up to Morales.

"Hey," I smiled at him, "you guys be careful out there," I said pulling him into a hug.

"Don't worry," he said and I went to hug his wife, "I'm a tough guy, I can take out the bad guys.

I smiled to the kids and tousled their hair, "you take care now."

I let a tear fall as I looked to see Morales' little girl give Sophia her doll, and Sophia went to her mom crying. I sadly walked over to Melanie and Kayden and pulled them into a hug.

"Who's coming in the truck with us?" I asked looking to everyone.

Rick walked over to me and said, "Carol, Sophia, and my family could go with you. Save gas if we didn't have this many cars."

I nodded my head and headed over to the truck that was still parked at the front of everyone's cars. When I got there Steven was just now hopping out of the truck.

"Get back in, we're getting ready to leave," I said smiling at him, "Morales and his family are staying."

"Damn shame," he said shaking his head as he helped Kayden into the truck, "he's a good man, hope he changes his mind."

I sadly nodded as I helped Melanie into the truck, "me too."

I walked around the side of the truck to see Daryl heading towards me, and I walked up to him, "hey, you and Merle gonna take the truck, or you riding the bike together?" I smirked at his disgusted expression.

"We're taking the truck, but we're putting the bike in the back of it," he said looking down at me, "Merle 'd be pissed if he had to leave his bike behind."

"Yeah," I sadly smiled up at him and he pulled me into a hug, "stay safe Daryl."

"Ain't ever safe in a world like this," he said.

"Whatever, just don't die," I said grabbing onto his shirt, and he pulled away and moved his head towards mine. His lips crashed onto mine, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. I heard someone behind Daryl clear their throat, and Daryl groaned and pulled away. We looked behind him to see Ricks family along with Carol and Sophia standing there with their things.

"Here, let me help you guys load that in the truck," I said walking up to them taking a few things and we walked to the back of the truck and put their things there.

Once everyone was in Lori and Rick took the front seats and everyone else sat in the back. I smiled at the kids sitting there with the coloring books. I smiled and pulled out the pictures in my pocket and unfolded them. I scooted next to Steven and showed them to him. He smiled at both of the pictures and he laughed at the hair that they had drawn for him. His hair in the picture was blonde and spiky hair with some of it going over his eyes.

"Hey Valora," I heard someone say, and I looked over to see Melanie sadly looking up at me, "do you think we'll ever see those other kids again?"

I sadly smiled at her and held out my arms and she scooted over to me and I put her in my lap, "I'm sure that someday our paths will cross. They went to go and find their family. That's what we're doing right now, we're looking for your parents."

She looked at me wide eyed, "we're going to find mommy and daddy?"

"Yup," I smiled and I saw Kayden look up from the picture he was drawing, "that's where we're headed. To the place where those big army men are going to protect us."

"Don't worry," I heard Rick say in the front, "we'll be safe there."

Then we heard the C.B. crackle and we heard the voice of Dale, "I think we have a problem."

Rick took the walkie and spoke, "what kind of problem?"

"Tho hose in the RV is shot," he said and then RIck pulled over. He banged his hand on the wheel before getting out of the truck.

I went to the back and opened it and helped the kids down. Once everyone was out we headed to the RV that was right behind us. When we got there the RV was smoking and Glenn was standing in front of it trying to fix the problem.

"Can you Jury-rig it?" Rick asked walking up next to Glenn.

"That's all its been so far," Glenn said wiping the sweat off his brow, "it's more duct tape than it is hose. And we're outta duct tape."

Then Shane spoke up, "I see something up ahead. Gas station if we're lucky."

Then Amy came running out of the RV, "guys its Jim, I don't think he can handle it anymore."

"Rick you wanna hold up here, and I can drive ahead see what I can get," Shane said and Rick nodded.

"I'll come along too," T-dog said looking through the binoculars.

I looked to see Rick head into the RV, and soon after Andrea was out of the RV. I sighed and looked to the two small kids holding onto my hands for dear life. I tugged at their hands and we headed back to the truck. Once they were in the truck I felt arms wrap around my waist, and I looked up to see Daryl.

"Hey," I smiled at him.

"You okay?" he asked pulling me closer to him.

"Fine," I sighed, "you?"

"Just a little annoyed at Merle," he said, "keeps singin 'Darylina and sugar tits sittin in a tree.' Pretty annoyin if ya ask me."

I laughed and I smiled, "Darylina?"

"His nickname for me when he thinks i've gone soft," he grumbled resting his head on my shoulder, "always hated that 'bout him."

"I kinda like it," I smirked at him and he tightened his grip on my waist.

"Sugar tits ain't so bad either," I knew he was smirking without even looking at him.

"Okay, we're even," I smiled and pulled away from him, and hopping into the truck, "gotta go teach Melanie some more numbers."

He nodded his head and I watched him disappear in his truck. I smiled in his direction before walking over and sitting down in front of the eger Melanie. I smiled and pulled out the notebook and pen from my pack and writing the number twenty-four on the paper.

"Twenty-four," I said as I handed her the pen and paper, "number after twenty-three."

"Twenty-four," she smiled writing the number sloppily on the paper.

"That's good," I smiled and I looked over to see Steven walking up to the truck, "what's wrong?"

"J-Jim, h-he wants," Steven said putting a hand to his mouth, and then he slid it through his hair, "Jim wants to stay behind."

"Oh m-, are you serious?" I asked now hopping out of the truck, and he slowly nodded his head and I pulled him into a hug, "it's okay."

He hugged me back, and then he took a deep breath and sighed, "let's go over there. I'll help the kids out you go on ahead."

I slowly nodded to him and walked over to the circle of people by the RV. Shane and T-dog were already back from their run to the gas station and the RV was already fixed up. I made my way into the circle when Rick spoke up.

"It's what he says he wants," Rick said his voice stern.

"And he's lucid?" Carol said with her eyebrows furrowed.

"He seems to be. I would say yes," Rick said rubbing his nose.

"Back in the camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood," Dale said shaking his head at Rick, "I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants."

"But were almost to the CDC," I said rubbing the back of my neck, "they could have a cure."

"I don't think they do, at least not yet," Daryl said looking at me, "if they did then they'd have this problem taken care of."

"But, what if-" I was cut off when Rick held his hand up.

"Jim's a man, and he's made his own decision," RIck said with a lump in his throat, "I may not agree with him, but I will respect his decision to do this."

I felt myself wanting to cry, and I took in a deep breath and looked up to see Daryl looking at me. I sadly smiled at him, and he nodded to me. I looked back to see Steven with both of the kids at his side. I walked up to him, and I pulled him into a hug. He knew what had happened even without asking, and I felt his grip on me tighten. Soon he let go, and I looked to see Melanie looking at me confused.

"Jim's," I started while squatting down to her eye level, "he's, not going to be going to the CDC with us."

"Why not?" she asked, "he's sick isn't he? My mommy and daddy can help him."

"He's sick with something, that can't be cured," I sadly sighed and looked into her eyes, "Jim's gonna play hero and watch our backs as we make it to the CDC."

She looked to me in the eyes and wrapped her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her tiny body and slowly stood up. I looked over to Steven who was now holding a crying Kayden. I sadly smiled at him, and he returned the smile.

I looked over to see Rick and Shane carrying the sick man out of the RV. I took in a deep breath as everyone slowly followed them up the hill. The gently set him on the ground in front of a tree. Jim harshly coughed as he sat up straighter, and I sadly smiled at him.

"Hey, another damn tree," he said looking up and smirking at Shane who cringed next to him.

"Hey Jim," Shane said with his hand on the man's leg, "I mean, you know it don't need to be this."

"No, its good," Jim breathed heavily, "breeze feels nice."

Amy walked up to the man and squatted down next to him, "just close your eyes sweetie. Don't fight," she said and she leaned toward him and planted a kiss on his right cheek, and she slowly made her way to hug Andrea.

Rick walked up to him and pulled out his gun kneeling down to Jim's side, "Jim, do you want this?"

"No," Jim breathed out, "you'll need it. I'm okay."

I fought back the tears that threatened to fall. I looked to the little Melanie in my arms, and she had a tear running down her face. I moved my hand and wiped it away, and she sadly smiled at me. I set her on the ground and she slowly walked up to Jim with me right behind her.

"Mr. Jim," she said and he turned his head to the little girl, "Valora told me that you were gonna stay behind and be the hero that watches our backs."

He looked up to me and I just nodded my head and he smiled slightly, "yup. I'm gonna stay here and fight off the bad guys," his smile disappeared and he harshly coughed.

"Then take his gun Mr. Jim," she said sternly, "you need something to take them out with."

Jim looked from her to Rick who was now setting the gun in his lap, "guess I forgot about that," he slightly smiled at her.

I looked to Melanie who was now shaking, and she moved to the little man and wrapped her arms around him. Jim looked slightly surprised by her action and he looked up to me. I smiled at him and he awkwardly wrapped his arms around the girl. He looked like he was okay, and he wasn't sick at all at that moment.

When Melanie pulled away from the hug Jim held the little girl and he slightly smiled at her, "you remind me of my daughter, Jordan."

Melanie smiled at the man, and then when he let go she walked over to me. I reached down and picked her up. I nodded my head to Jim with tears now on the bridge of falling and I turned around putting my free hand to my mouth. Everyone began to head to their cars, but Daryl lingered there a little longer. Jim stared at him, and Daryl slightly nodded his head at the man.

Once everyone was in their own cars, we were off. We were about a half a mile away when we heard the noise of a gun go off. I put a hand to my mouth and the tears fell uncontrollably. I felt Steven's arms wrap around me and I leaned into his chest and cried. This was going to be hard, but I have to stay strong. Stay strong for those around us.


	16. We're Safe Now

I turned on the camera on my computer and began to speak, "Jenner here. It's day 194 since Wildfire was declared and 63 days since the disease abruptly went global. There's no clinical progress to report. Item- I finally got the scrubbers in the east sector shutdown to save power. Wish I could have done it a month ago, but it took me that long to figure out. Too bad I never studied engineering. Could have saved a lot of amps. Item- I'm still not sleeping well. Can't seem to keep regular hours. Guess living underground doesn't help, not knowing if its day or night. I'm just feeling very off-kilter these days," I said and shut down the camera.

I leaned back in my chair and took a deep breath. I rubbed my eyes with the bottoms of my hands. No matter what I did I couldn't seem to wake up completely. I was tired, but I couldn't sleep. I was all alone. My wife had died when all of this started. My kids were out there and I wasn't able to do a damn thing about it. I worried about them every night wondering if my friends are keeping them safe or not. I always had this itch on the back of my neck, and I only got that when I felt that I need to do something in the near future.

"What the hell do I need to do?" I asked scratching the back of my neck, "too bad I won't know until it happens."

I stood up from the chair and headed over to the lab. First I changed into a suit to keep myself from getting infected. I opened the door, and stepping inside, and turned everything on before taking the sample out of the freezer. I sloppily cut the bag open and set the sample on the glass tray. I took a small chunk of the sample and put it in the test tube. I walked over to where I had some chemicals and put some with the chunk of the sample in the test tube. I shook it slightly and then I put the tube for the computer to scan it.

I took a seat and I must have dozed off because I jumped at the noise of the computer beeping telling me it was done with the scan. I put some of the sample on a glass piece and stuck it under the microscope. I looked at how the two particles mixed together to create a new one, and I went to grab something and I knocked over the chemical. I tried to get it off the sample but that resulted in the chemical burning through my suit.

The alarm sounded and I took off my glove and headed to the decontamination room. I was being washed off and then I saw that the room was now set ablaze. I screamed at it, and all of my hard work had been for nothing. I had come so close in to finding just the smallest thing at something to not get infected with the disease.

I was back to the main computer room with a bottle of wine and I was now back to sitting in front of the camera, "the TS19 samples are gone. The tragedy of their loss cannot be overstated. They were our freshest samples by far. None of the other samples we gathered even came close. Those are necrotic, useless dead flesh. I don't even know why I'm talking to you. I bet there isn't a single son of a bitch still listening is there? Is there? Fine. Saves me the embarrassment. I think tomorrow I'm gonna blow my brains out," I said putting my hands on my hips looking at the empty room, "I haven't decided, but tonight, I'm getting drunk."

I finished off and turned the camera off, and poured more wine into my glass. I swished it around in the glass and sighed downing the whole thing. I looked to the bottle in my hand and tossed it up and looked around.

"How far do you think I can chuck it?" I asked myself, and then I tossed it, "Oh! It's out of the stadium!"

I was laughing until I heard the computer start to beep. I furrowed my brows together and I turned around. I squatted down and looked to see that it was saying that people were approaching. I turned on the camera, and I looked to see a man in police attire. I couldn't believe it, there were people who were listening.

"No," I mumbled still searching the faces of the people, and they were arguing with each other, "no, just go away."

The man kept shouting at me, "you're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" I took in a deep breath and pressed a button and the doors opened. They all stood there looking at the open door, and I rushed to the front grabbing a gun on the way.

* * *

After a long while of driving we had finally made it to the CDC. It was beginning to get dark. Once the back of the truck was open I hopped out along with Steven. I helped Melanie out, but I thought twice at letting her walk on her own. I looked over to Steven who was now holding Kayden in his arms. I smiled to him, and we started to walk over to the CDC. The smell was awful and I had almost thrown up what little I had in my stomach.

"Breath in through my shirt honey," I said to the little girl in my arms, "or plug your nose."

She put a small hand to her nose and plugged it, and I looked over to Kayden who was doing the same thing. I smiled at them and I looked back to see everyone else making their way to the awful scene. I pushed Melanie's head into my shirt and made it so she wouldn't see the huge amount of walkers lying on the ground left there to rot. I felt a hand on the small of my back and I looked to see Daryl standing there. I smiled up at him, and we began to head to the CDC.

Once we got there the doors were sealed off. No way of getting in or out. I felt my heart rate increase as Rick and Shane both tried to get in.

"Walkers!" Daryl shouted and I looked to see him shooting one down, and he turned around shouting at Rick, "you led us into a graveyard!"

"He made a call," Shane said stepping in front of him.

"Well it was the wrong damn call!" Daryl shouted at him.

"Shut up, you hear me shut up," Shane said pushing Daryl back to my side, "Rick. this is a dead end."

"What are we gonna do?" Carols cry rang through my ears

"We can't be this close to the city after dark," Lori said quickly shaking her head while holding her son closer to her.

"Fort Benning, Rick, still an option," Shane said.

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's a hundred miles," Andrea said moving closer.

"A hundred twenty-five. I checked the map," Glenn said cocking his gun.

Daryl was now taking out walkers with Merle at his side laughing like a maniac. I grimaced and looked over to Steven who shared a look of fear with me. I gulped the lump growing in my throat and I looked to the camera above the door. I saw it move up and I felt some fear being lifted away.

"Th-the camera!" I shouted, "it moved."

"Just your imagination," Daryl said over his shoulder to me.

"I know what I saw," I said glaring back at him.

Rick moved up to the camera and then Shane was trying to pull him away from the door. Rick began to argue back with him and then he pulled his arm free from Shanes grip. He walked back up to the door, and banged on it.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me," Rick said looking up at the camera, "please we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left."

"Rick! Lets go!" Shane shouted.

I put a hand on the back of Melanie's head as I was being dragged by my arm by Daryl. I looked up to him, and he kept his eyes on the walkers now beginning to swarm around us.

"We have nowhere else to go. If you don't let us in, you're killing us," Rick said pushing his wife out of the way, "you're killing us! You're killing us!"

Rick finally gave in and let his wife drag him away from the door. I felt all hope lost, and then my heart stopped at the sound of the opening doors. I looked back to see the bright lights from within the building as the doors opened. I felt my grip around Melanie loosen slightly and I looked to see Daryl looking to his brother.

We all headed into the building and I heard Shane shout, "Dixon's you cover the back."

Once we were in the building Rick began shouting, "Hello? Hello!?"

Then we heard a gun cock and all guns were aimed to the man, and he said, "anybody infected?"

"One of our group was," Rick swallowed, "he didn't make it."

Melanie pulled her head away from my and looked over to the man, and she jumped out of my arms, "DADDY!"

She began to run towards the man, and I looked to Steven who was struggling to hold Kayden. Kayden finally got loose and was now running to the man. I saw the man drop to his knees and set his gun down. His arms opened as the two kids ran into his arms. I smiled at them and I looked to see Daryl lowering his crossbow.

I saw the man holding his kids and he looked up to everyone, "you all have to submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission."

"We can do that," RIck said nodding his head lowering his gun.

"Go get what you need, and once those doors close they aren't going to open again," the man said walking up to us.

Daryl, Glenn, and T-dog went to the cars and got the things that the group decided they wanted. Once they were back in the building the man slid his card in the little box by the door, "Vi, seal the main entrance, kill the power up here."

"Rick Grimes," Rick said walking up to the man and introduced himself.

"Dr. Edwin Jenner," he said looking to Rick, and then back to his kids who were attached to his legs.

He took us down the hallway, and we all crammed into one elevator. I was up against Daryls chest, and he had an arm wrapped around my waist. I looked over to see Merle smirking at Daryl and I. I smirked myself knowing that he was probably singing 'Darylina and Sugar tits sittin in a tree'.

"Doctors always going around packin heat like that?" Daryl asked him.

Jenner turned around and said, "there were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough," he said then looked down to Carl, "except for you. Imma need to keep an eye on you."

Once we stepped out of the elevator Carol asked, "are we underground?"

"You claustrophobic?" he asked turning around to face her.

"A little," she said.

"Try not to think about it," he said looking back in front of him and then to his two kids trying to walk as fast as him, "Vi, bring up the lights in the big room."

The room was filled with light as he turned around to face us, and said, "welcome to zone five."

"Where is everybody?" Rick asked following behind him, "the other doctors? The staff?"

"I'm it," he said sadly looking to his kids, "it's just me here."

Rick looked down and then Lori spoke up, "what about the person you were speaking with? Vi?"

"Vi," Jenner said looking up to us, "say hello to our guests. Tell them, welcome."

"Hello guests, welcome," s computerized voice filled the room.

"I'm all that's left," Jenner swallowed looking down to his two kids looking confusedly up at him, "I'm sorry."

He turned around and we followed him down the hallway. He told us that we'd go in the room one at a time. Everyone so far was good, and now it was my turn. I slowly walked into the room filled with computers and he was sitting there at a chair with one in front of him for me to sit in.

"You're kids are really sweet," I smiled at him as he poked me with the needle, "I'm sorry but the people you left them with didn't make it."

He shook his head, "it's not your fault. As long as my kids are safe then it's okay."

I sadly smiled to him and asked, "so where's your wife?"

I saw him tense up, but then he relaxed, "she didn't make it."

I put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at me, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"She was a great woman," he smiled, "smartest girl here."

"I only wish I was there to meet her," I smiled at him.

He smiled at me and then put the blood sample from me into a box and it slid into the wall. I heard the computer beep and he smiled to me, "you're all good."

I nodded to him and he let me through the door to the room everyone else was waiting. Once I sat down next to Steven I looked in through the one way window to the room I was just in. I sighed looking at Daryl look around at everything like it was from another planet. All of the computers and technologic things had been something he wasn't familiar with.

Once he stood up and left the room Merle walked in. He looked around the room and scoffed before sitting down in the chair. I saw Jenner go over to the computer and type a couple of things in. He looked up to Merle and said something to him before getting up and leaving the room. Once the man was out of the room he slid his card in the little panel next to the door, and the door sealed off.

Merle was up on his feet now, "the hell is goin on!? The hell'd you lock me in here for!?"

"Your friend is infected," the man said turning around only to be thrown into the wall by an angry Daryl.

"Let my brother outta there," Daryl said, "my brother ain't infecter. Your computer thing musta got it wrong."

"No it didn't," the man said speaking in a calm tone, "the computer thingy is a hundred percent accurate."

I walked up to the two men and I looked to Jenner, "please, at least let his brother out while he's still not turned yet."

Jenner eyed me for a second before looking back to the room that had an angry Merle in it, and he typed in the passcode and the door opened, "thank you," I smiled to him.

"It's only because you took my kids in when they needed the help that I'm doing this," he said looking down at me.

I nodded my head and turned to look at Merle storming out of the room about ready to kill someone. Daryl stepped in front of him only to get shoved into the wall. Merle was storming up to Jenner, but I stood my ground as he approached him.

"Outta the way sugar tits," he said through clenched teeth, "gotta settle some business with this here man behind you."

"Merle," I said sternly looking up at him, "this man just saved our butts from becoming walker food. You either back down and suck it up, or you get back in that room."

His glare hardened on me and he scoffed, "the man ain't worth my time anyways."

"Good," I said not breaking eye contact with him until he walked away.

"Hate to ask, but you got any food?" I heard T-dog ask, "we haven't eaten in days."

Next thing you know we were in the kitchen getting drunk off of all of the wine they had. Daryl was sitting in the chair with me sitting in between his legs. We were all laughing at god knows what and then it was Dale who spoke out to Carl that got us all to quiet down to listen.

"You know in Italy children have a little bit of wine with their dinner," Dale said while handing Lori her glass, "oh and in France."

"Well when Carl is in Italy or France he can have some," Lori said with her hand over his glass.

"What's is gonna hurt? Come on," Rick laughed, and Lori just shook her head as Dale poured some wine in his glass.

Carl took the glass and took a sip but then he cringed his face causing the group to laugh, "that's my boy," Lori said patting his head and pouring the wine in his cup into hers.

"Why don't you stick to soda pop there, son," Shane laughed.

"Not you Glenn," Daryl said reaching past me for the other bottle on the table because he was already done with his first.

"What?" he asked looking to Daryl.

"Keep drinking, little man. I wanna see how red your face can get," he said smirking at Glenn and I laughed along with the men in the room.

Rick hit the side of his glass with his knife and stood up, "it seems to me that we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host," T-dog said holding his glass up.

"Hear hear!" everyone shouted.

"Here's to you doc, booyah!" Daryl shouted thrusting his bottle in the air causing me to laugh.

I took it out of his hands and shouted, "booyah!" and I took a long swig of the wine.

Daryl wrapped an arm around my waist and took the wine from me. I laughed and leaned into him as he took a swig of the wine. After he took a drink of the wine he rested his head on my shoulder and I felt his hot breath going past my ear. It tickled my ear causing my laugher to grow.

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?" Shane asked looking over to Jenner, "all of the other doctors, that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"C'mon Shane, we're celebrating," Rick said looking to his friend, "we don't need to do this now."

"Woah, wait a second, this is why we're here, right?" Shane said looking to Rick then to the doc with both of his kids sitting in his lap, "this was your move- we're supposed to find all the answers but instead we found him. Found one man, why?"

"Well when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families," Jenner said tightening his grip on his kids' shoulders, "and when things got worse. When the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked sitting back in his chair still looking to Jenner.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time," he said while adjusting himself in the chair.

"You didn't leave," Andrea said and Amy finished, "why?"

"I just kept working," he said looking up, "hoping to do some good."

I looked over to Shane and said, "dude, Shane, you're such a freaking buzzkill."

Once we finished up eating I could hardly stand. I had to hold onto Daryls shoulder for support. Jenner took us down a hallway and pointed to the doors.

"Most of the facility is powered down," Jenner explained looking over his shoulder, "including housing. So you'll have to make due here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? or anything with power. The same applies- if you shower go easy on the hot water.

Glenn turned around with a huge grin on his face, "hot water?"

I looked to Daryl who also had a big grin on his face, and I smiled at him. I looked to see Steven shaking his head as he headed into his own room. Daryl led me into a room, and I looked around and my eyes landed on the bathroom door. I walked into the bathroom and I was followed by Daryl.

I smirked and looked to him, "he did say go easy on the hot water," I said smirking, "maybe if we took one together it would use less."

He smirked down at me and moved his head to my ear, "I like that idea."

I smiled wolfishly and I turned around and took off my top, and then slid out of my pants. This time I didn't keep my bra and underwear on, and I quickly went into the shower turning on the water. I jumped when it first hit me and was cold, but I smiled as I let the water hit the top of my head. I jumped again when I felt strong arms wrap themselves around my waist.

I felt him begin to plant kisses on my neck and I let out a little moan when he found my weak spot. He turned me around and I looked up at him with my eyes half open. He moved in closer and his lips met mine. He was pushing me towards the wall and when my back hit it I gasped and that got him to stick his tongue into my mouth. I moaned into the kiss and that caused him to groan. After he pulled away I felt something rubbing on my leg, and I smirked up at him.

He smirked at me as his head moved down to my nipples. He covered the right one with his mouth and he played with the other one. I threw my head back and moaned. He then did the same thing to the other one, and when he finished he moved his head back to my neck. He kissed it all over until he found my weak point and he sucked on it leaving a mark.

"D-Daryl," I panted and he moved his head up to meet my gaze, "I-I need you."

He didn't argue at all and he lifted my feet off the ground and I was pushed up against the wall. He positioned himself and looked up to me and I nodded my head. He slowly moved in getting used to it and then his thrusts became faster. I had my arms wrapped around his neck and I was scratching his back.

"D-Daryl!" I shouted, and I heard him groan.

"Fuck Val," he groaned and he threw his head back.

I felt myself getting closer, and I could tell by him speeding up he was getting close as well, "Daryl, I-I'm gonna-!"

He groaned as he thrusted hard into me as he came inside me, "Valora!"

He thrusts slowed down and then he set me down pulling out. I smiled up at him with heavy eyelids, and he smirked back down at me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around my waist and he softly kissed me on the lips. After he pulled away he reached over and grabbed a bottle of what looked like shampoo and squirted some on my head. He set the bottle down and massaged my scalp washing my hair.

When we finished our 'shower' we got out and I threw on one of his shirts with a pair of my shorts, "that's my favorite shirt," I heard Daryl say from behind me, "looks good on you."

I smiled at him, "you really think so?" I asked walking up to him.

"Hell yeah," he smirked down at me.

I laughed and wrapped my arms around him. I rested my head on his chest and sighed. I felt safe with this man. He planted a kiss on top of my head, and I smiled bigger.

"We're safe now," he said putting his hand on the back of my head, "we don't have to worry."

I smiled up at him, "I'm always safe, as long as I'm with you."

He smiled down at me and grabbed my chin and leaned down and kissing me softly. I smiled into the kiss, and I felt him smile in it as well.

After he pulled away I smiled up at him, "get changed I'm gonna go check up on the kids," I walked to the door and then left to the rec room.

I saw Melanie and Kayden sitting at the table with coloring books, and when they saw me they ran up to me, "hey guys, didn't know you'd miss me this much."

"Valora!" the little girl shouted, "come on! Look at the drawings I've made!"

She pulled me over to the table she was drawing pictures at and I smiled as she told me what the drawings were about, "this is of us playing shark down at the lake," she said handing me the picture and I smiled at how Daryl was drawn behind me catching me, "this one is everyone at camp," she said handing me a picture of everyone at camp holding hands, "can you help me spell their names, I haven't learned how to spell yet."

I smiled at her and I patted her back, "I'll have to teach ya later," I smiled, and she pointed each person and I told her how to spell their names.

Carol and the other two kids had just came in the room and I saw Carol smile, "look at all the books," she said walking up to one of the shelves, "man, I was such a book nerd before this happened."

"Me too," I smiled standing up next to her, "Lord of The Rings was my favorite."

"Me too," she smiled at me, "Harry Potter, anything to do with fantasy."

"Yeah," I smiled, "anything to get my mind off of the world, it would have to be a good fantasy book."

"For me it was to escape from the reality between me and Ed," she sadly sighed and I put a hand on her shoulder, "he wasn't like this before we got married, but I guess people change. Ed unfortunately changed for the worse."

"I'll have to tell you the real story on how Steven was born sometime," I sighed picking out a book on the shelf, "pretty sad story if you ask me. The girl's raped by her stepfather and has the kid," I looked up to see Carols hand move to her mouth.

"A-are you serious?" she asked putting a hand on my arm.

I slowly nodded my head, "I didn't know if I could trust the group the first night I got here, but I know that all of you, even Merle, I can trust with my life."

She turned me to her and pulled me into a hug, "dear god, how old were you?" she whispered so the kids couldn't hear.

"Thirteen," I sadly smiled and her grip tightened, "when there's another time I'll tell the rest of the group, but for now lets keep things on the down low."

She pulled away from me and smiled, "this book is really good," she said pulling Holes by Louis Sachar.

"It's a good book to read to the kids," I smiled looking at the book.

Then I heard Lori walking in holding a glass of wine, "any good books?"

"Yeah," Carol smiled, "enough to keep us busy for years."

I smiled and looked to Melanie and Kayden who were rubbing their eyes, "c'mon, lets go get you guys to your dad," I said helping the kids up and they took my hands, "see you guys tomorrow," I smiled back at them.

"Night Valora," Lori said, and when I walked past her she whispered, "have a nice shower?"

I laughed and whispered back, "best one in a long time."

This caused her to laugh as she walked over to the books. After I walked into the hallway I went to the computer room to find Rick standing up and leaving. I smiled and nodded to him and he nodded back. He definitely was gonna have a bad headache tomorrow. I walked over to where Jenner was sitting at and I sat down on the counter next to his computer station.

"Everything alright?" I asked looking at the stressed look on his face.

"Just tired," he sighed picking up his kids and setting them on his lap, "being down here has messed up my nights and days so I have no idea when to sleep and when to stay awake."

"It'll be okay," I smiled and walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, "you know your kids are safe, no need to stress anymore."

After that I began to head back to where I was staying with Daryl. When I walked in the room I saw Daryl sitting on the couch with his legs on the table in front of him. He had a bottle of wine and he was taking a long swig from it. I smiled at him and walked over and sat down next to him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and I sighed leaning into his chest.

He set the bottle down, and we both adjusted ourselves so we were both laying down. I smiled up at him, and he was drawing different shapes on my arm as he tapped his fingers on his stomach. I sighed and snuggled in closer to him. I think I'm in love with this man.


	17. For The Kids

My head was pounding when I woke up. I groaned grabbing at my head and I felt movement next to me. I opened one eye to see Daryl grabbing at his head. I smirked and then sat up groaning again. I felt a hand on my back and I smiled back to Daryl.

"I'm never drinking that much again," I groaned rubbing my temples.

I heard a chuckle come from Daryl, "sure you say that but you'll probably drink that much again tonight."

I sighed, and blew my lips, "sad thing is that you're probably right."

"C'mon," Daryl said getting off the couch and holding a hand out, "pretty sure they'll have some medicine for your headache."

I took his hand and we headed to the door. Once we were out of our room we headed straight to the kitchen. I smiled at the smell of eggs cooking, and I heard groaning. I walked around the corner to see Glenn sitting at the table resting his head up with his wrist.

Then Rick walked in and the first thing his son said to him got me to laugh, "are you hungover? Mom said you'd be."

"Mom is right," Rick said sitting down next to his wife.

I took a seat next to Steven who had his head on the table and he was groaning. I rubbed his back and looked over to Daryl who was just smirking at everyone who was groaning from their hangovers. I looked up to see T-dog entering the room with a pan and a towel over his shoulder like a chef.

"Eggs. Powdered, but I do 'em good," T-dog said holding a hand up, "bet you can't tell. Protien helps the hangover," T-dog said putting a lot on Glenn's plate.

"Get some over here," I waved my hand, and looked at Steven and rubbed his back, "he's not doing so good."

T-dog laughed walking over to me and putting some on a plate. I pulled Steven up so he was sitting upright and he was leaning to one side. I reached for him, but I was too late. Steven fell to the floor with a loud thud and followed by a groan.

"Where'd the table go?" he moaned opening one eye.

I couldn't help it, and I laughed. Everyone in the room began to laugh as well, but it only lasted a short while. Everyone groaned and held their heads remembering their headaches. I saw Daryl stand up and pick up Steven so he was back to sitting in his chair. I laughed before turning to the eggs that were on my plate.

I took a bite and smiled, "you're right T-dog, can't tell the difference."

"Told ya I do 'em good," he shouted from the kitchen and I chuckled eating some more eggs on my plate.

Then a bottle of pills was being passed around and Rick asked his wife to help him with the bottle, "Jenner gave it to us, thought that some of us could probably use it."

Glenn groaned before saying, "don't ever, ever let me drink drink again."

"What, little chinaman can't handle a little wine?" I heard the familiar laughter come from the door as he walked in,

"I'm too tired to deal with your shit Merle," Glenn groaned letting his head fall to the table.

"Whatever you say little boy," Merle said patting the kid on the back.

"How come you ain't got a fever yet?" Jacqui asked eyeing Merle.

"Cause I'm a Dixon," he laughed, "I ain't leavin till I decide to leave."

Then Jenner came into the room, "hey doc," everyone said simultaneously.

"Hey doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing but-," he was cut off by Jenner finishing his sentence as he poured himself some coffee.

"But you will anyways," Jenner sighed.

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea said turning around to face him.

He looked around to everyone and sighed, "follow me then."

Everyone finished up what was on their plate, and we made our way back to the computer lab. Jenner turned on the big screen and typed things into his computer, "give me playback of TS19."

"Playback of TS19," Vi said.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this," Jenner said turning to face all of us, "very few."

I walked up to where I could see the screen, and Daryl came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, and Carl asked, "is that a brain?"

"An extraordinary one," Jenner said looking up at the screen, "not that it matters in the end. Take us in for EIV."

"Enhanced Internal View," Vi said changing the screen so that the brain had moved so we saw it from a different angle.

Then it zoomed in to show various lights that were blue and I was astonished, "what are those lights?"

Jenner looked over to me and said, "it's a persons life- experiences, memories. It's everything," he said waving his head around like those things were around him, "somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you- the thing that makes you unique. And human."

Daryl shifted his arms on me, "you don't make sense ever?"

Jenner looked over to him, "those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything that a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

"Death?" Rick asked walking closer to Jenner, "is that was this is, a vigil?"

"Yes," Jenner said still looking up at the monitor, "or rather the playback of the vigil."

"This person died," Andrea said more than asked, "who?"

"Test subject nineteen," Jenner said, "someone who was bitten, and infected...and volunteered to have us record the process," he said then spoke louder, "Vi, scan forward to the first event."

"Scanning to first event," Vi said and then it zoomed out.

"First event?" I mumbled raising an eyebrow as I looked to the screen.

When it zoomed out the brain was no longer the beautiful green and blue colors, it was now in the process of being corrupted by this dark red mass. Glenn breathed out, "what is that?"

"It invades the brain like Meningitis," he said pointing up to the screen, "the Adrenal Glands Hemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were, or ever will be... gone."

I covered my mouth looking up at the brain that was now a dark color. No lights no nothing, not a sign that the brain was alive even at the slightest.

"We lost somebody not too long ago," Lori spoke up, "it was a pretty hard time."

"I lost somebody too," Jenner said sadly nodding to all of us, "I know how devastating it is," he looked around to everyone but then turned around, "scan to the second event."

"Scanning to second event," Vi said.

"The resurrection times vary wildly," Jenner said crossing his arms over his chest, "we have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds."

Then red sparks began in the brain. It looked beautiful, but also looked corrupted. My mouth was still over my mouth, and I felt Daryls grip tighten. I looked back to him as he was gulping hard, and I put my arms on his. I looked up to the brain that was slowly turning that dark red color instead of the blue color, but the whole brain wasn't lighting up.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked not believing what she was seeing.

"No, just the brain stem," Jenner said still looking at the screen, "basically is just gets them up and moving."

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked moving closer to him.

"You tell me," Jenner said moving his hand gesturing to the screen.

"It's nothing like before," Rick shook his head, "most of that brain is dark."

"Its also that corrupted red color," I mumbled but everyone had heard me.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the Neocortex, the human part- the you part," Jenner said looking from Rick and back to the screen, "just a shell driven by wildless instinct."

Then something passed through the brain, "god, what was that?" I asked backing up more into Daryl.

"He shot his patient in his head," Andrea said still looking at the screen, "didn't you?"

"Vi, power down the main screen, and the workstations," Jenner said walking away.

"Powering down mainscreen and workstations," Vi said as everything was shutting down.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Amy asked walking up next to her sister.

"It could be microbiol, viral, parasitic, fungal," Jenner said.

Then Jacqui spoke up, "or the wrath of god?"

"There is that," Jenner said looking to the ground.

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere," Andrea said putting a hand on her hip.

"There are others right?" Carol asked, "other facilities?"

"There may be some. People like me," Jenner said looking back to Carol.

"You don't know? How could you not know?" Rick said demanding an answer from him.

"Everything went down. Communications, directives- all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month," Jenner said looking up like he was looking at a calendar he was keeping track of the days with.

"So its not just here?" Andrea asked, "there's nothing left, anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying right?"

"There goes Miss. Cup-Full-of-Sunshine again," I mumbled getting a chuckle from Daryl.

"Imma get shitfaced drunk again tonight," Daryl said sighing.

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing you and I hate to ask one more question, but..." Dale said looking to a clock that was counting down, "that clock, it's counting down. What happens at zero?"

Jenner looked up from the desk and said, "the basement generators- they run out of fuel."

"And then?" Rick asked, but he didn't get an answer, "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"  
"When the power runs out, the facility-wide decontamination will occur," Vi said.

"Let's go to the basement," Shane said and Rick, Glenn and T-dog followed after him to the door.

"Let's go get drunk," Daryl said grabbing my hand and dragging me to the kitchen to get some wine.

Once he had found two unopened bottles he took me back to the room. He plopped down on the couch and I sat down next to him. He popped open the two bottles and handed me one. I took a long swig from it and sighed.

"What did she mean by decontamination?" I asked twisting the bottle in my hand.

"Hell if I know," Daryl said putting an arm around me and taking a long drink from his bottle.

"Whatever it is it doesn't sound good," I mumbled.

"Just drink it off," he sighed, "you'll feel better."

I sighed and looked up to him, "imma go to the rec room. You're welcome to join me there."

I stood up only to have my hand grabbed by Daryl, "why don't ya just sit here?"

"I feel like reading," I sighed and smiled down at him, "I'll read to you if you come with me."

When he stood up I felt the cool air coming from the air vent cutoff. I stood there and looked up, and Daryl looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"The air conditioner," I said as I stood up on the table and felt under it, "it turned off."

I was about to step off the table, but then the lights shut off. It surprised me and it threw me off balance. I fell to the floor and smacked my head on something. I groaned and I felt hands reaching out and touching my legs.

"Val? That you?" I heard Daryls voice.

"Yeah," I groaned, "hit my head on something."

"C'mere," I heard Daryl say and I reached my hands out to grab onto his arms.

Then the room was filled with a dim light. I still had my hand on the back of my head, and I pulled my hand away. Daryl turned me around and looked at the back of my head.

"Nah no scratches or nothin," I heard him say, "just one big ass bump."

"Thats just great," I groaned and put a hand to my forehead, "now my headache is worse."  
"C'mon, lets go check this out," Daryl said taking my hand and opening the door, "hey, what's goin in? Why's everythin turnin off?"

Jenner walked by taking the bottle of wine from Daryl, "energy is being prioritized."

Dale spoke up, "air isn't a priority, and lights?"

"It's not up to me," Jenner said finishing his drink of the wine, "Zone Five is shutting itself down."

"Hey! Hey what the hell's that mean?" Daryl asked and he pulled me out of the room to go after Jenner.

"I'm gonna go look for the kids," I said looking up to him, and he nodded his head back to me before letting go of my hand.

I walked back to the rec room to find Melanie and Kayden sitting on the couch hugging each other in the darkness, "c'mon kids," I said walking up to them, "let's go find your dad."

They both stood up and took my hands and we walked back to the computer lab. I looked around to look for Daryl and found him taking the wine from Jenner. I walked over to him with the kids still at my side, and stood there.

"It was the French," Jenner said looking back to Andrea.

"What?" she asked shaking her head in confusion.

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know," Jenner said lifting his hand up, "while our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the end. They thought that they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

"Same thing that's happening here," Jenner said with his hands in his lab coat pockets, "no power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?"

"Let me tell you-" Shane started like he was going to start a fight with him.

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care," Rick said pulling his friend back, "Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!"

I looked to Daryl and he put his hand on my arm getting ready to lead me out, but then sirens went off. Everyone froze and looked to the big screen saying that there was thirty minutes left. I looked back to Daryl, and then to Rick who was shouting at us to get moving. We were just bout to walk through the doors when they were sealed off. My eyes widened and I looked up to Daryl who had the same expression.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked in shock, "he just locked us in!"

Jenner sat at his desk and began to speak, "we've hit the thirty-minute window. I am recording."

I felt Daryls hand leave my arm and he began to run in the direction of Jenner, "you son of a bitch! You locked us in here! You lying-!"

T-dog and Shane pulled him away when he had just grabbed the back of the docs coat. Jenner straightened himself up and looked to the computer. I stood there in shock and looking around for Steven. When I saw him he was wide eyed and his mouth open.

"Hey, Jenner, you open that door now," Rick said walking quickly over to him.

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed," Jenner said looking back to his computer desk.

"Then open the damn things," Daryl said now pacing around the room to cool off.

"That's not something I control, the computers do. I told you, once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again you heard me say that. Right?" he said pointing a finger at Rick who was now shaking his head, "it's better this way?"

"What is?" Rick said looking back to the man, "what happens in twenty-eight minutes?"

I walked over to where Steven was standing and I put a hand on his arm. He looked down at me with shock still written all over his face. I pulled him into a hug and looked over to Rick who was still standing there waiting for Jenner to answer.

"What happens in twenty-eight minutes!?" Rick shouted shoving the man.

"You know what this place is!?" Jenner shouted standing up, "we protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized Smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!"

Daryl eyed the man for a second before his eyes went to me. I looked at him with my eyes still wide and I gulped hard. Daryl made his way over to the two of us and I saw Steven nod to me and push me to Daryl. I went over to him and he pulled me into a hug.

Jenner was now calm, and his kids were now right across from him, "in the event of a catastrophic power failure- in a terrorist attack, for example- HIT's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

Rick raised an eyebrow and moved closer to Jenner, "HIT's?"

"Vi, define," Jenner said and Vi spoke.

"HIT's, high-impulse thermobaric fuel air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear," Vi spoke and my hand went to my mouth and I felt a tear escape, "the vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5000 and 6000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structure is desired."

"It sets the air on fire," Jenner said with no emotion, and I felt Daryl tighten his grip on me and plant a kiss on the top of my head, "no pain. An end to sorrow and grief... regret. Everything."

I pulled away from Daryl and looked over to the two kids. The two kids who he was so relieved that they were alive, the two kids that he had left with his friends to take care of. The two kids that I had found, scared out of their minds in the back of a pharmacy store. The two kids who didn't judge one for their looks, and the two kids who I had taken care of for a week at least.

I felt all sadness leave my body, and was now filled with anger, "you're fucking kids are in here," I said as I walked over to the two kids who were standing there not knowing what Vi had just explained, "you really think that this is the way for them to go?"

"It's easy, painless," Jenner said looking up at me, "its the only logical answer."

I walked up to him, and the sound of the slap echoed throughout the computer room, "no it is not. When I first met you, I was relieved to see that these two kids had a loving and caring father still left in this shithole of a world. You know what I was wrong. No parent should want their fucking kid to die like this," I glared hard at him, "you make me sick."

I turned around and walked up to the two kids and took their hands, "come on, that man right there isn't your daddy. He's just an imposter," I said whispering to them, "he's a bad guy."

The two kids looked back to the man with pain etched into his features. I walked over to Steven who picked up Kayden who was now in tears, and I picked up Melanie. I sat down a good distance from their 'father' and I looked up to see Daryl who was really pissed off.

He stalked up to the door and threw his bottle with it shattering when it hit it, "you open that damn door!"

"Out of my way!" Shane shouted as he ran to the door with an axe.

T-dog tossed an axe to Daryl, and he caught it and ran up to the door barely making a scratch on it. I felt Melanie sobbing into my shirt and I petted the back of her head. I cooed her while watching Daryl trying his hardest to try and get through the door. I felt my fear slowly creeping its way back into my body as I sat there hoping that somehow that he would break through the door.

I looked over to Jenner who was trying to convince the rest of the women in the group that this was better. Andrea was sitting on the ground hugging a crying Amy, and Carol was holding her daughter close as they both cried. I saw Lori's face just full of shock, and he son was sitting there lifeless. Jacqui was watching the men hitting the door with the axes, and making no difference except for some scratches on the door.

Shane walked up to Rick and panted, "can't make a dent."

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," Jenner said as Daryl made his way back quickly.

"Well your head ain't!" he shouted lifting the axe about to lop off the docs head.

Every man in the room had to step in front of him to get him to stop as Rick shouted, "Daryl! Daryl! Just back off!"

"You do want this," Jenner said standing up like he was about to preach the bible to us all, "last night you said, you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."

Rick looked to Lori who was now more shocked and Shane asked, "what? You really said that? After all your big talk?"

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick said making it seem like it wasn't that big a deal that he said that.

"There is no hope," Jenner said.

"You can just shut your fucking mouth," I glared at him from across the room and stood up setting Melanie down in the chair as I walked over to them, "Rick was drunk off his ass last night. Of course he's gonna say stupid shit like that. He was just scared probably, scared that he might wake up and this was just a dream."

I paused when I leaned up against the computer desk, "Rick kept this group alive. Without him all of us would probably be dead. Rick is the hope in this group, and we ain't gonna stop havin hope cause some twisted man came along and sealed us in a fucking room. I have hope, and I believe that Rick will get us out of here, alive."

"This is our extinction event," Jenner said after I finished talking.

"This isn't right," Carol said crying, "you can't just keep us here."

"One tiny moment- a millisecond. No pain," Jenner said moving closer to her.

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this," Carol said shaking her daughter.

"Wouldn't it be kinder?" Jenner asked lifting his hands.

I stepped in front of Carol and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, "you better open those doors."

"This would be bett-," I cut him off.

"You better not finish that fucking sentence," I said pulling out my knife and putting it to his throat,"or you bet your fucking ass that I'll make these last seven minutes we have left living hell for you."

I saw him gulp as he looked into my cold eyes, and he moved his arm back and keyed in a few numbers. I looked to see the doors open and I pulled my knife away and went to grab Melanie. I saw Steven stand up, and Daryl ran over to me. He put his arm on my hip and led me to the door. I turned around to see Jenner sadly looking to me. I nodded my head to him, and he just stared at me with no emotion.

"Wait," I said stopping Daryl, "we can't just leave him."

"C'mon lets go Val!" Daryl said tugging at me, "this place's gonna blow any second."

I sighed and shoved Melanie into his arms, "I'll be right behind you. Get our stuff."

Before he could respond I was down by Jenner's side, "come on, lets go. You're not staying in here."

"I'm staying," he said looking at me with sureness in his eyes.

"At the moment you're being a terrible father," I said looking him in the eye, "I'm pretty sure that your kids will forgive you, and I know that their mother wouldn't want you to leave them in a world like that alone."

He looked up to me, and slowly nodded his head. I pulled him up and out of the chair. We ran to the elevators but they weren't on. I panicked and looked over to the stairs. Good thing I was athletic and ran a lot while this happened. We had ten flights of stairs to run up. Once we had run up six flights Jenner was already tired. I kept having to drag him. I was sweating and I was getting tired of having to pull him around.

"Get your ass in gear!" I shouted, "do it for the kids!"

He took in one more deep breath and we sprinted the rest. The door to the stairs banged open and we ran up to the front of the building. One of the windows were shattered, and we left through that window. We ran over to the street where everyone was shouting at us to get down. We hopped over the wall of sandbags, and braced ourselves for the explosion.

The explosion was loud, and I felt my skin getting hotter and hotter. I covered the top of my head and kept one eye opening makig sure Jenner didn't rush into the explosion. After all of the noise was gone I slowly lifted my head over the sandbags to see that the CDC was nothing more than a raging fire. I stood up, and looked down to Jenner with a shocked look on his face. I smiled down at him and put a hand out for him to take.

"There goes my job," he mumbled while I helped him up.

"Your job now is to be a father and protect your kids," I said looking up at him in the eyes.

He nodded down at me and I heard my name being shouted. I looked to my right to see Daryl standing next to his truck and Steven running up to me. I rushed to him and he ran into me hugging me tight. I looked over his shoulder and smiled at Daryl who was now shaking his head. Steven pulled away and looked at my face, and moved the hair out of the way.

I smiled at him as he looked past me and glared at Jenner, "he'll be riding with us now."

He looked down at me like I was crazy. Before he could say anything I put a hand up and walked over to Jenner. I nodded to him to follow me, and we made our way over to the truck. I looked in the back to see Rick holding Lori and Carl, and Carol holding Sophia.

Kayden was sitting in the back of the truck waiting patiently for Steven to get back. When Kayden's eyes landed on me he was up on his feet and he wrapped his arms around my neck. When he saw Jenner he froze, and I peeled his arms off of me.

"I found your real daddy," I smiled at him, "the bad guy who was pretending to be your daddy died in the fire."

Kayden looked oddly to Jenner before he jumped from the back of the truck and landed in Jenners arms. Jenner was caught off guard and he fell to the ground. I snickered as I watched him awkwardly holding the boy in his arms. Kayden was crying into his lab coat, and Jenner looked up at me and smiled mouthing 'thank you.' I only nodded my head to him and I looked up to Daryl taking Melanie out of his truck.

She ran over and tackled her dad with a hug, and I walked up to Daryl. He glared down at me and I tried to avoid eye contact with him. When I was within arms length of him I was forcefully pulled toward him. His arms wrapped tightly around me and his head was buried in my hair.

"Ever do that again," he said his voice full of anger, "I-I don't know what I'll do. Just don't do it again, got me?"

I nodded my head and he sighed, "Steven! Your mom's riding with me!"

"Whatever you say!" Steven shouted laughing.

"Where's Merle?" I asked looking up and around for the stoner redneck.

"Guess he didn't make it," Daryl said sadly looking over to the CDC.

"Oh my god," I said covering my mouth, "I-I'm so-"

"Jus don't," Daryl said wrapping an arm around me, "I don't wanna hear it."

I went quiet as we walked over to his truck, and he opened the passenger door for me. I hopped in and waited for him to get in the drivers seat. When he sat down he put his arm on the top of the seat and I scooted closer to him. When I was right next to him he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed tight. I leaned my head on his chest and we headed out into the world. Only god knows where we were going.


	18. Long Road Ahead

I woke up when I heard a loud booming noise. I grumbled some curse words before getting up. I slammed my door open, and I saw something pass in front of my door. I looked down the hall to see that it was Sugar tits and the Doc. I quietly went down the hall. Sugar tits was rapidly pressing the button on the elevator but the light was off. She grumbled some curse words and went to the emergency staircase. I followed behind making sure not to make much noise. I stayed at least a flight of stairs behind making sure to stop when they did. When they got out of the stairwell they were running for the front. They stopped for a bit before running out the window. I waited for them to get out before getting out myself.

Sugar tits and Doc were running for the sandbags, and people were shouting for them to get down. I quickly made my way to get behind something. I heard something explode and I stopped looking behind me. I ran when I saw the fire slowly making its way out of the building. I got behind a tank. I covered my head and my hand felt like it was melting.

When everything went quiet I moved slightly and I looked to see my hand completely burned. I laughed at my hand and looked around. I looked to where we had parked the cars to see that they were gone. I shook my head and quickly made my way over to where our cars were. I looked around to see that the only thing around were the many dead bodies of walkers.

"FUCK!" I shouted at the top of my lungs getting the attention of many other walkers around.

I looked around me and grabbed the closest thing to me. I grabbed ahold of a metal pipe that was scorching hot and smacked an ugly bitch in the face. I dropped the pipe looking to my hands that were now burnt. I tried to move the other hand that had burns all over it, but it wouldn't move. I kept trying but it wasn't moving.

"FUCKING SHIT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs and I began to laugh, "WELL LOOKS LIKE I'M FUCKED!"

I kept laughing as I made my way across the field to get away from the walkers reaching out for me. I made my way into the forest and looked around taking in my surroundings. Yep, just like a forest, nothing but goddamned trees. I sighed and tried to climb into one. I forgot that my fucking hand wasn't going to do me any good anymore.

I sat down on the ground and pulled out my knife, "what's the point o' keepin somethin ya don't need?"

I put my belt tightly around my wrist and put my knife to my wrist. I began to cut into the burnt flesh and i couldn't feel the pain that I was expecting. I laughed as I cut into my wrist like it was a piece of goddamned pie. No blood, just pure burnt flesh. I laughed picking up my hand and I chucked it into the forest.

"Eat that bitches!" I shouted then laughed.

I leaned back onto the tree, and then I felt something cold touch my neck. I glanced up to see a scrawny man holding a knife to my neck. I laughed at the seriousness in his face, reminded me of that fuckin sheriff that cuffed me to the roof.

"The hell do you want man?" I said looking up at him, "can't ya see I ain't gonna do no harm with only one hand."

"Come with me," the man said putting his knife away, "we'll help you with that injury."

I laughed and stood up, "what's your name son?"

"Philip," the man said eyeing me over his shoulder, "you?"

"Merle," I laughed, "Merle Dixon."

* * *

Not that far from where we first were Ricks voice came over the CB, "we're gonna pull over at the next gas station everyone, make a plan for what we gonna do."

I looked up to Daryl and sadly smiled up at him, "now I kinda wish we brought some o' that wine."

"Fuck," he grumbled, "can't believe I forgot to grab that on my way out."

I stifled a laugh, "I bet we'll find some somewhere."

"Yeah," he sighed, "could really use some."

"Me too," I said looking out the window as we pulled over in front of a gas station.  
Everyone got out of their cars and we all met at the RV. I smiled at Jenner who was now acting like he should and keeping his kids close to him. I sighed and looked to everyone who had looks of shock and sadness wriiten on them. I took in a deep breath as we walked up to them.

"Fort Benning," Shane simply stated, "it's our only option now."

Rick nodded his head, "Fort Benning. It'll be a tough journey, but we'll somehow manage to do it. I haven't lost hope, and I pray to god that nobody else loses hope here."

"As long as you're the leader Rick," I smiled at him, "I'll keep my hope up as long as you're here to make the right decisions for us."

He nodded his head in thanks to me and then Daryl spoke up, "I was thinkin 'bout ditchin the truck. The bike uses less gas, so we can get farther without havin to stop so much."

Rick nodded his head, "yeah, that'd be a good idea. T-dog, Shane, go see if there's any gas that you can siphon."

T-dog and Shane nodded their heads before grabbing to gas containers to hold the little amount of gas they will find. I sighed and looked up to Daryl who was heading back to the truck. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I looked back to see Steven smiling down at me.

"You can ride with him," he said as he looked over to where he was having Rick help him get the bike out of the back, "he needs you right now. Though he doesn't show it on the outside, he really misses his brother."

I slowly nodded my head, "what are you gonna do?"

"I'll still ride in the truck with Rick and all them," he smiled at me, "I'll be fine, besides someone has to be Kayden's backup."

I laughed and turned around pulling Steven into a hug, "I don't know what I'd do without you Steven."

"You'd probably sleep in still," he laughed and I just shook my head.

"Okay funny guy," I said pulling away from the hug, "lets go see if we can find anything inside."

He laughed and we headed to the gas station. When we slowly opened the door the smell of rotting flesh filled my nose. I resisted the urge to vomit when I plugged my nose walking into the building more. I looked around to see a couple of walkers lying dead on the ground. I looked around and my eyes landed on a cooler. I walked up to it to see about three jugs of water.

"Steven!" I shouted and he came running in a panic, "look what i found!"

He came up to my side and looked in the cooler, "that's great! We could definitely use these later on in the trip."

Steven reached in the broken glass of the cooler and picked one up. He swung it over his shoulder, and picked up another one with one hand. My mouth fell open because I could hardly lift one with both hands. I grumbled something under my breath and that caused Steven to laugh.

Once we got through the front door of the gas station everyone was looking to us. I smiled at the looks on everyone's face. I was grinning like an idiot as I made my way over to them.

"Holy- Where did you find these?" Rick asked walking over and taking the jug from me and putting it on his shoulder with ease.

"How can you guys carry those so easily?" I asked.

"What?" Rick asked looking up to Steven but he just shook his head at the man.

"Found 'em in a cooler that was already open," Steven shrugged, "water's a little warm, but better than nothing."

Rick nodded his head and they headed to the back of their car and put them back there. I looked over to see all the kids playing tag around the cars. I laughed at how Melanie was running and laughing like an idiot. I sighed and turned around to see Daryl looking at his brothers bike before sitting down on it.

I sadly smiled at him and made my way over, "hey."

He grunted while putting his hands on the handlebars, and I walked over to him and put my hand on his, "you okay?"

He nodded his head, "I'm fine. Don't worry 'bout it."

I sadly smiled at him, and peeled his hand off the handlebar and wrapped my arms around his. I felt him tense up, but then he wrapped his arms around me and sat me down on the bike. I heard him sigh as he buried his head in my hair. I felt him begin to shake a little, and then he tensed up.

"I won't think any different of you Daryl," I said running my hands up and down his back, "you can let it out if you want."

"He was a fucking dumbass," he quietly choked out, "always getting fuckin high, or messing around. It's my fault, my fault he got infected. My fault he died. I coulda stopped him getting high when he started."

I pulled away from his tight embrace and I put my hands on his face and looked at him in the eye, "you were not the fault for your brother getting infected. Your brother probably just caught the flu, cause I didn't see any bites or scratches on him."

"He coulda hid it," Daryl said avoiding my eyes.

"No Daryl," I said putting my forehead on his, "he woulda been like Jim if he was bit or scratched. My sister caught the flu and all she had was the flu. She was burning up and then, she... passed on," I slowed down at the end remembering that dreaded day.

He put a calloused hand on top of one of mine and looked back to my eyes. I sadly smiled at him, and he leaned in and kissed me. I slowly moved my arms around his neck, and he wrapped his strong arms around my waist. I moaned into the kiss and he smirked.

When he pulled away he looked at me and smirked at me. I laughed shoving at his chest a little causing him to chuckle. Someone next to us cleared their throat and I looked up to see Rick awkwardly standing there.

"What?" Daryl asked with a tone telling Rick he should leave soon.

"Since you got the bike," RIck said avoiding me overall, "we were thinking that you should be in the lead. Move us through the cars."

Daryl nodded his head sharing one last look with Rick before he walked off. I smirked looking to Daryl who was squining at the sheriff. He pushed me off the bike and told me to get on behind him. I just then remembered about my bag.

"Did you grab my bag back at the CDC?" I asked looking to him.

"In the truck," he nodded his head back, "wanna go get and put it with Steven?"

"Yeah," I said walking to his truck and opened the door to see my bag lazily thrown to the ground

I picked it up and slammed the door shut before walking back. I put a hand on Daryls back as I walked by, and made my way to the truck. I saw Melanie and Kayden sitting with their dad and I smiled at the two of them. I pulled my pack of my back and dug around in it and handed Jenner and notepad and pen.

He raised an eyebrow at me and I smiled, "I've been teachin Melanie here how to write her numbers and letters. Thought maybe you could help her while we're on the road."

He nodded his head at me before I turned and walked back to Daryl. He adjusted himself on the bike before I sat down behind him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned on his back. The sound of the bike starting up was quite soothing, and we headed off.

* * *

We've been on the road for about a week now. We make at least one stop a day for food and fuel. Otherwise we're driving on the road. We're about fifty miles out, and only seventy-five more to go. Jenner has been able to keep up his job at being a dad with his kids, also earning the trust of the group as well. Jenner is struggles a bit with taking out walkers, but he's getting there.

Now we're on the road, and we come across a semi truck that has been tipped over blocking the path. I heard Daryl grumbling some curse words as he pulled up a little past the semi looking if there was a way around. Once he found a way he turned back and stopped next to the RV.

"See a way through?" Dale asked over the motorcycle.

Daryl nodded his head going back to tell the others. When we finished he turned around, and guided everyone else through the maze of cars. We were halfway through when we heard the devastating screech coming from the RV. Daryl stopped the bike and mumbled something on how we should have left the RV behind.

"C'mon," Daryl said getting up and holding a hand out for me.

I took his hand and he lead me to where everyone was swarming around the RV, and Shane said, "can't find a radiator hose here..."

"There's a whole buncha stuff we can find," Daryl said letting go of my hand looking through the back of a car.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-dog said walking past everyone getting ready to set out on an adventure of getting more fuel.

"Maybe some water," Carol suggested.

"Or food," Glenn added.

"This is a graveyard," Lori said her voice stiff, and looked to Rick, "I don't know how I feel about this."

"All right all right, here we go," Shane said, "c'mon y'all, just look around, gather what you can."

I walked with Lori and Carol with their kids. Amy and Andrea went back in the RV, while Jenner said he was going to go play teacher with the kids in the truck. We were walking through the cars, and Carol was looking at clothes that were in the back of a car. She found a really pretty red dress and she held it up to her body admiring it.

She looked up tome and smiled, "Ed never let me wear nice things."

"You should keep it," I smiled at her, "never know when there'll be a special occasion."

She smiled at me before looking down to the dress a put it back, "I'm pretty sure I'll find something nicer before there's gonna be a celebration."

I shrugged my shoulders and kept walking, "you never know."

I walked over to where Sophia and Carl were looking in the back of a car, and squatted down next to them, "what'd you guys find?"

"Nothing really," Carl said, "just some boxes full of junk."

"Another mans junk is another mans treasure," I smiled patting the boy on the head, "that's what my daddy always used to tell me."

I stood up and stretched and I felt a hand touch my shoulder, and I heard, "hey mom."

"Hey Steven," I yawned putting a hand over my mouth, "man I'm tired."

"Maybe you should quit keeping watch at night and get some sleep," he laughed next to me.

I looked ahead and my heart stopped, "get under the cars, now!"

I pulled Sophia under a car with me, and Steven went under one with Carl. I waited for a second, and then I saw the first pair of feet walk by the car. I covered Sophia's mouth with my hand and she was breathing heavily.I held her tight, and she held onto my hand that I offered her. She squeezed to the point I'd thought I'd never get feeling in it again.

After minutes had gone by, I hadn't seen anymore walkers coming in our direction. I quietly moved my hand from Sophias mouth and peeked out from under the car. Bad idea. There was a walked walking up to me faster than before now that it knew I was there.

"Sophia, get down that hill," I said quickly while giving her a shove to the hill, "I'll be right behind you."

I turned my head to see the ugly face of the walker. I swallowed a scream and I shoved the walker back giving me enough time to get out from under the car on the other side. Once I was out there was another walker. I let out a little squeak and I kicked the walker to the ground. I hopped over the guardrail and went down the hill and picked up Sophia.

I ran through the forest and made my way to a little creek down the hill. I found a log in the creek and I went under it. I sat there and then I heard footsteps, and I was about to draw my knife when I saw Rick's face appear instead. I felt a rush of relief go over me, and then he started talking.

"Go back to the highway after you know we're far enough away," Rick said, and then I heard the moans from the walkers.

I put a hand over Sophia's mouth muffling her scream, and the walkers both fell into the creek. Rick slowly headed down the river. I peeked out from under the log, and saw that there were no other walkers in my sight. I crouched down and got out from under. I had Sophia get on my back, and I climbed my way out of the creek. I headed back, but then I saw a couple of walkers straight ahead. They hadn't noticed me so I went another way.

I walked through the forest not knowing which direction the highway was. I had a horrible sense of direction, and I was starting to worry that we wouldn't make it back. My breathing was getting heavy, and my legs were burning. I stopped when I heard the sound of church bells ringing, and I headed in the direction of the bells. When I got to an opening, all I saw were tombstones in the ground, and a red church right in the middle of it all. I headed to the church, and I put Sophia down when we got to the door.

I took in a deep breath before talking, "whatever you do don't scream at what might be in there," I said and she nodded her head slowly.

I stoob up taking another deep breath before pulling my knife out. I kicked in the door to see three walkers in there. I moved my way through the benches and stuck my knife into a bride's head, and tossed her into another one while I took out the third one. The one I threw the other walker out was now up and reaching for me. My knife was jammed into the other walkers head so I kicked him in the face. One more jolt and the knife was out and in the other walkers brain.

I was now panting again, and I wiped the sweat off my brow. I fell to my knees, and I took in three deep breaths calming myself down. I looked up to see Sophia looking down at the walkers scared.

"Are you okay?" she asked moving a little closer but staying behind the farthest bench.

"Yeah," I breathed out and smiled at her, "just tired."

She slowly nodded her head and looked to the walkers again. I sadly smiled to the little girl, and I stood up. With the support of the bench I was able to at least stand for now.

"Don't push yourself," she said moving a little closer in case I fell and she could catch me.

"N-no, I'm okay," I smiled at her, "I just have to take care of these walkers."

I grabbed one of the walkers by its legs and dragged it to the door. Sophia stood there and held the door open, and closed it once I was back in. I went and got the second walker, and Sophia did the same thing. By the time I was at the third walker she shut the door and sat down on a bench. I sat down on the one behind her and tried to hide how tired I was.

"Thank you Sophia," I smiled at her, "for holding the door for me."

"You're welcome," she smiled at me.

"Do you think they'll find us?" Sophia asked sitting forward.

"Yup. Daryl is an amazing tracker," I smiled looking to the cross in the front of the church, "he'll find us before you know it."

"Do you like Mr. Daryl?" she asked now facing back at me again.

"What makes you say that?" I asked her.

"The way you smiled," Sophia said, "it's the way mom smiled when she talked about daddy before this happened."

"I guess I do," I smiled thinking about it.

"I like Carl," she blushed hugging her doll, "don't tell anyone though!"

"My lips are sealed," I smiled zipping my lips and throwing away the key.

When I did that I got a laugh from the little girl. I sighed and leaned my head back, thinking about how pissed off Daryl was gonna be when he finds out I'm gone as well. I heard movement in front of me and I opened my eyes and peeked over the bench to see Sophia lying down. She was about to fall asleep, and I sighed one more time before leaning back on the bench. Looks like tonight I'm not getting any sleep.

* * *

"Where's Valora?"Daryl asked walking up to Steven who was looking over the guardrail.

"Walkers went after her and Sophia," he said looking over his shoulder to him, "Rick went after 'em. Just waitin for him to get back."

Daryl nodded his head, and soon they were sourrounded by the rest of the group. They kept asking questions about what happened. Steven explained everything to them after getting them all to shut up. Daryl kept looking to the forest for any sign of something coming through. After minutes of anxiously waiting Rick came through panting.

"Daryl, Glenn, Shane," Rick panted, "come with me."

Daryl, Glenn and Shane were over the guardrail in an instant. Rick led them down to the creek where he said he left the two of them under the log.

Daryl walked over and looked under the log and asked, "ya sure this is the spot?"

"I left them right here," Rick said moving in and holding his hand out indicating where he left them, "I drew the walkers way off in that direction up the creek."

"Without a paddle- seems where we landed," Daryl said looking along the shoreline for any sign on footsteps at all.

"They were both gone by the time I got back," Rick said looked around, "I figured they just took off and ran back to the group, but from the look on everyones faces I guessed not. I figured that Valora would know which way to go, but I guess not."

"Hey, short round, why don't you step off to one side? You're muckin up the trail," Daryl said up to Glenn and he moved over."

"Assumin that Valora knew where to go," Shane said shaking his head.

"Shane, I know that Valora knows where the highway is," Rick said glaring up at him.

"They're tired and scared man. Close call with two walkers," Shane said looking down at his friend, "gotta wonder how easy it'd be to lose track of where things are."

"Got clear prints right here," Daryl said pointing on the side of the creek, "they did head back to the highway. Judging from this there's only one set o' footsteps."

"Probably carrying Sophia to get around easier," Glenn said.

"Hey, we're gonna find 'em," Rick said putting a hand on Daryls shoulder, and he nodded to him.

We followed the trail until Daryl kneeled down in front of a spot where the tracks went another way, "they were doing fine till here. All they had to do was keep goin. They veered off that way."

"Why would she do that?" Glenn asked.

"Maybe they saw something that spooked her, made her run off," Shane suggested.

"A walker?" Glenn said with a little worry in his voice.

"Nah," Daryl said looking back to the ground, "don't see any other footprints. Just Val's."

"So what do we do?" Shane asked looking up to RIck, "all of us press on?"

"No, it'd be better if you and Glenn headed back up to the highway," Rick said looking between the two of them, "people are gonna start panicing. Let 'em know we're on their trail and that we're doing everything we can. But most of all, keep everybody calm."

"I'll keep 'em busy scavenging cars," Shane said nodding to his friend, "think up a few other chores. I'll keep 'em occupied. C'mon."

Shane and Glenn made their way back to the highway, and Rick and Daryl continued their pursuit. The two of them kept on the trail, but the tracks were fading. Daryl couldn't stop thinking about how worried he was about Valora. She had kept watch for the past couple of days. Hasn't had much sleep, and lately they haven't had much food or water. She was exhausted, from all of the running, lack of sleep, lack of water and food. They'd need to find her today or they'd be out of luck in finding them alive.

"Tracks are gone," Rick said with hope fading from his voice.

"Nah, they're faint, but they ain't gone," Daryl said pointing to the tracks, "they came through here."

"How can you tell?" Rick asked his voice strained, "I don't see anything. Dirt, grass."

"You want a lesson in tracking, or you wanna find em and get our asses off that interstate?" Daryl asked looking to the ground still.

The two men followed the trail that was getting fainter and fainter as they moved on. Rick was starting to lose hope in finding the two girls, but Daryl was determined. He didn't care if he had to look fo them for a week. He was gonna look day and night for them, no matter what Rick said.

There was a rustling noise not too far away, and the two men crouched down. They moved closer to the noise, and they found a lone walker. Daryl motioned for Rick to go in front while he'd take him out from behind. Rick ran out in front and whistled to get the walkers attention. The walker growled inhumanly and Daryl shot it in the back of the head with his crossbow. They walked up to the dead walker and Daryl pulled out the bolt from its head.

"Val! Sophia!" Daryl shouted into the empty forest.

Rick pulled out some gloves and slipped them on. He began to check the walkers mouth, and fingernails. Daryl raised an eyebrow at him and leaned in to get a closer look at what he was doing.

"What you lookin for?" Daryl asked looking down at him.

"Skin under the fingernails," Rick said looking up to Daryl then back to the walker, and flipped it over checking the mouth, "it fed recently."

Rick reached in the walkers mouth and groaned, "there's flesh caught in it's teeth.'

"Yeah, what kinda flesh?" Daryl asked worry rushing over him on the inside.

"Only one way to know for sure," Rick said pulling out a knife and ripping open the walkers shirt.

Daryl stopped him stepping over the walker, "here, I'll do it. How many kills you gut and skin in your life? Anyway, mines sharper."

Daryl took a deep breath as he braced himself and stabbing the walker in the stomach with a grunt. He looked away breathing out and back in. He slid the knife through the abdomen with some difficulty, and Rick looked away trying not to throw up at the smell of it. Daryl lifted the knife up and grunted again as he stabbed the walkers stomach. One last time he stabbed the walker in the stomach now ready to pull out the organs.

"Now here comes the bad part," Daryl smirked over at the sick looking man., and digging his hands through the walkers insides.

Daryl pulled out other parts of the walker before finally finding the stomach, "yeah, hoss had a big meal not too long ago. I feel it in there."

That grossed Rick out and he looked the other direction swallowing the bile in his throat that was threatening to come out. Daryl stuck both his hands in the walker and pulled out the stomach with a grunt. Daryl picked it up and put it at Ricks feet. Rick scooted a good amount away before sticking his knife into the stomach and cutting it open.

After they got it open Rick scooped out a big chunk of digested food, and flicked it off his knife. Daryl dug around in the stomach before stabbing something and inspecting it.

"This gross bastard had himself a Woodchuck for lunch," Daryl said twisting his knife around looking at the object on his knife.

"At least we know," Rick said wishing that they didn't have to have dug through the walkers stomach.

"At least we know," Daryl mimicked.

Then they both headed off after the trail again. They didn't get very far when it had started getting darker. Both of them knew that searching in the dark was futile. So they headed back to camp knowing that one walker hadn't eaten them.

When they walked out of the forest they looked up to see a worried Carol, and Steven who was anxious and scared on the inside, but playing it cool on the outside. Daryl looked up to the both of them, and he looked away not wanting to face either of them.

"You didn't find her?" Carol said holding back tears.

"Their trail went cold," Rick said stepping over the guardrail, "we'll pick it up in the morning."

"You can't leave my daughter out there," Carol said with a hand over her mouth.

"Don't worry," Steven said walking over and putting a hand on Carols shoulder, "she's with my mom. She's one tough son o' a bitch. She ain't gonna go down against a walker."

Carol smiled sadly at Steven and pulled him into a hug, "you're right. They'll be safe long as Valora is there."

"We'll continue the search at first light," Rick said heading to his car.

"We have to go find 'em though," Daryl whispered behind Rick.

"Tomorrow," Rick said looking to Daryl in the eyes.

"Valora's kept watch two nights in a row," Daryl said through gritted teeth still in a whisper, "has had hardly any food or water. She ran the whole time, her tracks didn't show any walking at all."

"Tomorrow Daryl," Rick said holding a hand up to Daryl.

"They'll be walker food by tomorrow," Daryl said glaring at the man, then stalking off.


	19. Shitty Day

The next morning everyone made their way over to where the group was meeting next to the RV. Rick looked dead tired, more so than everyone else. Hardly anyone got any sleep with being on edge about the two of them being out in the woods by themselves. Rick had the arsnl that Carl had found and taken to Dale.

"Everyone take a weapon," Rick said rolling out the arsnl.

"These aren't the kind of weapons we need," Andrea said looking up to the man with a hand on her hip, "what about the guns?"

"Where's Valora when you need her to make a smartass comment to you," Daryl said under his breath before looking back to the group sharing some snickers.

"We already went over that," Shane said looking up from the ground, "Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying. We can't have people popping off rounds at every little noise that is made."

"Its not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea snapped back at him looking to the forest.

"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment," Shane argued, "a herd happens to be passing by. See, then its game over for all of us. So you need to get over it."

Andrea sent Shane one of her ugly glares, and Daryl spoke out what the plan would be, "the idea is to take the creek up about five miles, turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are that they'll be up around the creek. It's their only landmark."

"Stay quiet, and stay sharp," Rick said after Daryl began to head out, "keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other."

Behind Rick, Shane was tossing a water bottle up and back to his hand, "everybody assemble your packs."

Rick walked up to Dale, "Dale, keep up on those repairs. We've got to get this RV ready to move."

"We won't stay here a minute longer than we have to," Dale said standing up and nodding to the man, "good luck out there. Bring those two back."

Rick nodded then put a hand on the back of his sons head, "keep an eye on Carl while we're gone."

"I'm going with you," Carl said like he already knew that, "you need people right? To cover as much ground as possible."

Rick groaned and looked to his wife who only shook her head going with what he'd say about it, "your call. I can't always be the bad guy."

"Well he has all o' you to look after him," Dale said lifting a hand that was resting on the doorframe of the RV, "I'd say he's in good hands."

Rick sighed in defeat, "okay. Okay. But always within our sights. No exceptions.

Carl looked to the old man with the bucket hat and smiled at him. Before Carl turned away the old man winked to him, and Carl took off after his dad. Andrea walked up behind Dale, and Dale tried to hide the fact he didn't want to talk to her when he turned to face her.

"Andrea, I'm begging you, please don't put me in this position," Dale said putting his hands up.

"I'm not going out there without my gun," Andrea looked to the forest, "I'll even say please."

"I'm doing this for you," Dale said shaking his head.

"No, Dale, you're doing this for you," she snapped back at him, "you need to stop. What do you thinks gonna happen?"

"I just don't want you to do anything," Dale said placing his hands on her arms, "I'm worried about you Andrea."

"Then give me my gun and you won't have to worry about anything happening to me out there," Andrea said ripping herself away from his hands.

"I know you're angry at me, that much is clear," Dale said looking down glancing up to here only for short moments, "Andrea, I just don't want you to harm yourself."

"Hey Andrea," Shane called out, "how 'bout you stay here. Look after Dale, T-dog, and Jenner with his kids."

Andrea looked to Shane over Dale's shoulder and shook her head, "I'm coming," she shouted walking past Dale not getting her gun back.

After the Andrea got to the group they all headed into the forest. They made their way down to the creek by following Daryl. Took a few minutes to get there because of all of the people they had to wait on to get there.

"We'll head down this way first," Daryl said aiming his crossbow the way they headed yesterday, "follow along the creek see if there's anymore tracks to follow."

Everyone made their way to the other side of the creek, and Daryl looked around. His eyes landed on Steven at his side. The boy looked terrified as he moved out of the way of branches in his path. Daryl put a hand to his shoulder, and that caused him to look up from the ground.

"We're gonna find'em," Daryl said in a hushed tone not wanting the rest of the group to hear him, "It'll be okay. Your moms tough."

Steven slightly laughed, "I know that. I can't help but worry though, you never know what's gonna happen now a days."

While walking along the creek Daryl spotted something from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to get a good look at what it was, and it was a lone tent. Daryl crouched down making everyone else do the same. He looked back and held a finger to his lips. Rick motioned for everyone to get down and they did.

"They could be in there," Shane said as if nobody would have thought of it.

"Could be a whole buncha things in there," Daryl said standing up straighter moving towards the tent.

Daryl kept his crossbow ready as he closed in on the tent. Once they were only ten feet from the tent he looked back and motioned to Rick that he'd go in alone. He pulled out his knife and put his crossbow to his side as he walked past the fire and to the tent. He paused at the front of the tent, thinking about Glenn's number one rule about not going into places with open doors. In this case the tent was unzipped slightly.

Daryl peeked in the teny not getting to see that much, and moved to the side of the tent to see if he could get a better look. He still couldn't get a good look inside so he looked back to Rick and shrugged his shoulders. Rick called back to Carol and Steven and they both rushed to his side.

"Call out to them, softly," Rick gulped, "if they're in there your voices should be the first they hear."

"Sophia," Carol started, "sweetie its mommy. Mommy's out here."

"Mom," Steven's voice was strained, and it sounded like it was about to break, "its Steven. Mom please come out."

Rick moved up next to Daryl when no noise came from the tent. Daryl began to slowly unzip the tent as he looked up to Rick who had his gun ready. Daryl pulled the flap of the tent back and coughed at the gut wrenching smell coming from inside. He carefully stepped in and walked over to what looked to be someone sitting in the chair. He got a good look at the disgusting face of a dead man with maggots feeding off of it. He looked away before grabbing the gun in the dead mans hand and put it in the back of his pants.

"Ain't them," Daryl said and swallowed hard after.

"What's in there?" Lori asked holding her son closer.

"Some dead guy," Daryl said putting a hand to his nose trying to get the smell out, "did what Jenner said, opted out. Ain't that what he called it?"

Then the forest was filled with the sound of bells ringing. Everyone looked around to try and find the source of the noise, but couldn't find it. They all looked to Rick who pointed in the direction of the noise. When he pointed everyone was rushing in the direction of the bells.

"What direction?" Rick asked now loosing where the noise was coming from now that they were in a big open field.

"I think that way. I'm pretty sure," Shane said aiming his gun though some trees.

"No, guys there's tracks goin that way," Daryl said aiming in the other direction, "they went that way. That's probably them ringin the bells."

After Daryl said that he was off in the direction of the tracks that were becoming more distinct as they moved. After what seemed to be forever they came across a graveyard, and in the center of it all there was a huge white church. Right smack dab in the middle, and the bells were ringing away but there were no bells on the church.

"That can't be it," Shane said adjusting his gun, "got no steeple, no bells. Rick."

Rick ran across the field right behind Daryl and Steven who were in the lead. Everyone else followed at their own paces. When they got up to the front door they looked to see three dead bodies of walkers. They looked like they were thrown out of the church.

Rick and Daryl were at the sides of the big red doors to the church, and Rick counted to three with his fingers. At three Rick kicked the door in only to have a gun aimed to his face. The gun dropped to reveal Valora standing there with relief written on her face.

"MOM!" Steven shouted running up to here and hugging her.

"Steven," she breathed out as she hugged him back, "thank god. I thought some walkers had gotten in."

When Steven pulled away from the hug he saw Carol and Sophia running up to each other. He smiled to the two of them, and he looked to see his mom smiling as well. When she looked back to him, her legs went limp, and she was headed to the floor. Steven said Daryl rush over to her and helped Steven hold her up.

He looked to his moms face and then up to Daryl, "probably tired, and dehydrated."

"She stayed up all night," Sophia's voice chimed in, "even after she ran that much. I told her she could sleep if she wanted but she told me no."

Daryl looked from Sophia to the sleeping Valora in his arms, "we need to get her back to the RV."

Daryl scooped her up in his arms and stood up about ready to leave but a hand was on his shoulder. He looked back to see Rick looking at him, and he glared at him for delaying him for getting back to the highway.

"You stay safe Daryl," Rick said, "we're gonna stay here for a while. Be right behind you in no time."

"Just save it for when we're back at the highway," Daryl said shaking his head and leaving the church to head back to the highway with Steven at his side.

After Daryl and Steven were outside Shane walked up to everyone, "Rick and I are gonna stay here and do a little sightseeing."

"Why don't you guys just do some sightseeing when we're at the highway?" Lori asked shaking her head.

"You sure you wanna split us all up like this?" Glenn asked.

"Yeah," Rick said walking up next to Shane, "we just gotta take care o' some things here."

Everyone nodded slightly before Carl spoke up, "I wanna stay."

Rick looked to Shane who shrugged his shoulders, then to Lori who who walked up to her son and pulled him into a hug, "when'd you start growin up?"

Rick gave his wife a short kiss and pulled her into a hug, "we'll be along soon enough," Rick then pulled out his gun, "here take it. You remember how to use it?"

"I'm not taking your gun and leaving you unarmed," Lori said looking back to Rick.

"Got a spare the back o' my pants, take it," Daryl shouted over his shoulder.

Steven lifted up his shirt and pulled the gun out of his pants and walked over to Lori, "here," Steven said as he handed it to her and he got a glare from Andrea.

Rick looked to Shane after they all left and he walked up to the man and put a hand on his shoulder, "give me a minute," he said walking into the church.

Rick walked up to the front of the church and looked up to the cross, "I don't know what you're looking at me with what? Sadness? Scorn? Pity? Love? Maybe its just indifference. I guess you already know I'm not much of a believer. I guess I just chose my faith elsewhere. My family, mostly. My friends. My job. The thing is we- I could use a little something to help keep us going. Some kind of... acknowledgment. Some indication that I'm doing the right thing. You don't know how hard that is to know. Well, maybe you do," he put his hat back on and began to walk away but turned around, "hey look, I don't need all the answers. Ju-just a little nudge, a sign. Any sign will do."

Then he left the church and walked down the stairs Shane and Carl were sitting at, "get what you needed?"

"Guess I'll find out," RIck said walking away from the church and in the direction the rest of the group was headed in.

* * *

"I need a break," Carol breathed out sitting on a log holding her daughter close to her.

"We need to get back," Darl growled back to the group, "the sooner we get back, the sooner it is that we'll be off to Fort Benning."

"Yeah, back to the RV with knifes and pointy sticks," Andrea scoffed and looked to Lori, "I see you have a gun."

"What, you want it?" Lori said looking up to the woman, "here, take it."

Andrea took the gun from the woman and eyed her as she went and sat down, and she spoke, "I'm sick of the looks you're giving me."

"C'mon," Daryl piped in, "we need ta go. She needs to get back."

Everyone nodded their heads and they headed out. They were getting closer to the creek when the sound of a gunshot rang throughout the forest. Everyone stopped and looked back to the direction it came from.

"Was that them?" Lori asked in a panic.

"Maybe there was a walker," Glenn suggested quickly.

"I know Rick, he wouldn't fire his gun for just one walker," Lori said looking back to where they just came from.

"Whatever the hell it was we need to stay the hell away from it," Daryl said and kept moving.

He adjusted Valora in his arms and looked to her face to see she was waking up. He stopped for a second and looked around for something to set her on. There was a log there and he walked over to it and set her down. He pushed away some of the hair that fell in her face. He looked down at her slowly opening eyes.

"We'll wait for them to catch up." Daryl said looking back to the group that was a little on edge about the gunshot, "don't worry walkers won't come here, they'll be going after wherever that gunshot came from."

* * *

Rick and Shane were now heading back with Carl at their side. They were just entering the forest when they heard a branch snap, and leaves rustle on the ground. Shane and Rick crouched down with Carl in between them. Rick looked through some trees and found the source that was making the noise. He looked back and smiled at Shane who was giving him a confused look. He pointed in the direction of what he found, and then Shane was grinning like an idiot.

They went and stood out in the opening and watched as the deer slowly walked out of the trees about ten feet away from them. Shane aimed his gun at the deer but Rick stopped him. Shane put his gun down and watched as Carl slowly walked up to the deer. He was smiling as he walked up approaching the deer slowly.

He was halfway there when he stepped on a branch and the deer turned its head to him. It stood its ground and Carl kept moving closer. Shane and Rick were standing there watching the thirteen year old boy walking up to the deer.

It was exciting to see his son see a deer for the first time, and so close, but that all changed. The gunshot was ringing in his ears as he watched his son collapse to the ground along with the deer. The smile on his face disappeared as he ran up to his son. He scooped him up in his arms and was screaming in agony as his son laid there bleeding.

Then a man came through the trees and gasped, "is he okay?"

"You the one who shot him?" Shane asked walking up to the man with his anger rising.

"I-I didn't see him," he said looking to Shane with worry in his eyes, "come with me, I know someone who can help your son."

Rick scooped his kid up in his arms and began to follow the man. He was crying as he ran carrying his son. He kept on going after the man who shot Carl ran out of breath and explained where to go. He was now out of the forest and running through an open field to an old looking farmhouse. He was panting and his legs were burning but he kept on going.

There was a girl on the porch and she shouted to her dad. Next thing you know the whole household was on the porch. He was making his way through the yard up to their house. The man looked to him, and was eyeing his son.

"Was he bit?" the man asked.

"No, shot," Rick breathed out, "by your man. He said talk to Hershal, is that you?"

"Bring him inside," the man said to Rick and he walked up the porch steps and followed the man into the house.

"Patricia, I need my full kit," the man said rolling up his sleeves, "Maggie, painkillers, coagulants- grab everything. Clean towels, sheets, alcohol. In here," he said flipping the covers off the bed so he could set Carl on it, "pillowcase."

"I-is he alive?" Rick asked the man.

"Pillowcase, quickly," he said to Rick again and he grabbed the pillow and took off the casing.

"Fold it up and make a pad," the man said again.

"Is he alive?" Rick asked again.

"Put pressure on the wound," the man said taking out a stethoscope and listening to the boys heartbeat, "I got a heartbeat. It's faint."

"I got it, step back," a woman with blonde hair said moving Rick out of the way.

"Maggie, IV," the man said removing the stethoscope from his head.

"We need some space," a brown haired girl said moving Rick out of the way.

"Your name?" the man asked Rick.

"R-rick," he stuttered still staring at his son.

"Rick?" the man asked him to clarify what he said.

"I-I'm Rick," he stuttered out again.

"Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay?" the man asked and looked up to him, "you're gonna need to give us some room. Now."

Rick stared at the man before walking into the living room. He looked out the window to see Otis and Shane running through the field. Otis was falling behind and Shane was barking at him to move. Rick walked out onto the porch and removed his hat looking at the two of them.

"He's alive? He's still alive?" Otis panted.

Rick wiped his forehead with his blood covered hand and it got on his face. Shane walked up to him slowly and pulled something out of his pack. He began to wipe the blood off of Rick's face and looked down to his blood soaked shirt. He pulled the bandanna away and looked to his friends devastated look.

"Where is he? Where is he? Is he okay?" Shane asked quietly to Rick and he turned around and went inside. They made their way to the bedroom he left Carl in to see Hershal applying a pad to his wound.

"You know his bloodtype?" Hershal asked looking up to them.

"A-positive. Same as mine," Rick said with his voice slowly fading.

"That's fortunate. Don't wander far I'm gonna need you," Hershal said looking up to Rick and back to Carl, "what happened?"

"I was tracking a buck," Otis said looking shocked, "bullet went through it. Went clean through."

"The deer slowed the bullet down," Hershal said lifting the pad off the wound and then putting it back on, "which certainly saved his life. But it did not go through clean. It broke up into pieces. If I can get the bullet fragments out... and I'm counting six."

Otis walked up to the blonde woman standing behind Rick and said, "I never saw him, not until he was on the ground."

Rick began to breath in small pants, and he said, "Lori doesn't know."

Shane walked up to him, "no..."

"My wife doesn't know," Rick said as Shane put an arm around his shoulders, "my wife doesn't know."

Shane began to whisper into Rick's ear telling him that its going to be alright, and that they were going to pull through this. Rick was sobbing into his hand as he looked to his son. He didn't know what to do, his boy was hurt, and his wife was out there. He felt useless, he felt like his whole world was coming in on him.

After Rick had calmed down he was led into the living room, and was sitting on the couch with Shane, "why'd I let him come with us? I should have sent him with Lori."

"You know, you start that, you'll never get that monkey off your back," Shane said to Rick who was now blaming himself for what had happened to Carl.

"Two people go missing, you go look for 'em. Simple," Rick said looking out the window, "you said call it, head back."

"It doesn't matter what I said," Shane said trying to get Rick to stop talking.

"Carl got shot because I wouldn't cut bait," Rick simply stated, "it should be me in there."

Shane chuckled, "you've been there partner, right? And you pulled through. So will he."

"Is that why I got out of that hospital?" Rick asked in a whisper, "found my family for it to end here like this? This some kind of sick joke?"

Shane shushed him and in a harsh tone he said, "you stop it. Just stop."

Rick took in a deep breath with his hand on the bridge of his nose, and when he pulled his hand away he talked, "two people go missing... you look for 'em, its plain and simple."

Then the door to the room Carl was in opened, and the brown haired girl walked out, "Rick," was all she said and Rick was in the room in an instant, "he needs blood."

He walked in to see his son crying in pain on the bed while they were holding him down and Hershal spoke, "you hold him down," he said to Shane and he went and held him down, "almost there."

"Stop! You're killing him!" Rick shouted to him.

"Rick, do you want him to live!?" Hershal shouted and Rick went quiet.  
The blonde woman spoke, "he needs blood."

"Do it now!" Shane shouted to him.

Rick went over to the blonde woman and then Carls cried stoppe, "wait. Wait. Hey," Shane stuttered looking to Hershal for an answer.

"He just passed out," Hershal said looking to Shane then back to the wound and pulled out one piece, "one down. Five to go."

After Rick did the blood transfusion Hershal took a break. He was now checking the boys blood pressure, and RIck was sitting in the chair at his son's side. He couldn't stop thinking about his wife out there, and the fact that she didn't know that Carl had gotten shot.

"Pressure's stable," Hershal said putting the stethoscope around his neck.

"Lori needs to be here," Rick said shaking his head at the man, "she doesn't even know what's going on. I-I've gotta go find her. Bring her back."

"You can't do that," Hershal said looking up to Rick.

"She's his mother," Rick said looking to the man, "she needs to know what's happened. Her son's lying here shot."

"And he's going to need more blood," Hershal said to Rick then looked up to Shane, "he can't go more than fifty feet of this bed."

Shane nodded to him, and then walked over to where Rick was having trouble standing up, "hey. Hey. Come on."

Rick patted Shane on the shoulder and said, "I'm all right. I'm all right."

"I got him," Shane said to Hershal who watched them exit the room, and into the living room.

The worried faces of Otis and the brown-haired woman met Ricks gaze, and when Shane walked in he said, "he's stable for now."

Rick looked from his hands and then up to the man at his side, "Lori has to be here Shane. She has to know."

"Okay, I get that," Shane said now trying to talk some sense into the man, "I'm gonna handle it. But you gotta handle your end."

Rick looked up to him confused and stuttered out, "my- my end?"

Shane squatted down to Rick's eye level, "your end is being here for your son. Even if he didn't need your blood to survive, there's no way I'd let you walk out that front door. Man, I'd break your legs if you tried. You know that, right? If something happened to him and you weren't here... if- if he slipped away while you were gone, you would never forgive yourself for that. And neither would Lori, man."

Rick held his face in his hands as he tried to process everything just now, and he sat up straight taking in a deep breath and looking to Shane, "you're right."

"When was I ever wrong?" Shane asked him smiling a little earning a little one from Rick, "you know, when- when you were in that hospital, the one you were never supposed to leave, man, you should have seen Lori. She was like... the strength of that woman... you can't imagine it. See- see, thats what you gotta have now. I mean, Carl- he needs that from you. So you wire yourself tight, my friend. You hear?" Shane said putting his forehead on his friend, "you got the hard part. You- you just leave the rest to me, okay?"

"Alright," Rick said looking to his friend.

"Alright," Shane said standing up.

Hershal opened the door, and began to talk, "he's out of danger for the moment. But I need to remove those remaining fragments."

"How? You saw how he was," Rick asked Hershal.

"I know, and that was the shallowest one," Hershal said to Rick, "I need to go deeper to get the others. There's more."

"Tell me," Rick said preparing for the worst.

"His belly's distended, his pressure is dropping, which means there's internal bleeding," Hershal said and shock filled everyones faces in the room, "a fragment must have nicked one of the blood vessels. I have to open him up, find the bleeder, and stitch it. And he can't move while I'm in there- I mean at all. If he reacts the same as before, I'll sever an artery and he'll be dead in minutes," Rick slowly nodded his head, "to even try this, I have to put him under. But if I do, he won't be able to breathe on his own. Same bad results."

"What'll it take?" Rick asked his voice straining again.

"He'll need a respirator," Otis said walking up to Hershal without his hat on, "what else?"

"The tube that goes with it," Hershal said thinking of what he needed, "extra surgical supplies, drapes, sutures."

"If you had all that, you could save him?" Rick asked taking a step closer to Hershal.

"If I had all that I could try," Hershal said to Rick with emphasis on the try part.  
"Nearest hospital went up in flames a month ago," Otis said looking from Rick to Hershal, "the high school."

"That's what I was thinking," Hershal said not breaking eye contact with Otis, "they set up a FEMA shelter up there. They would have everything we need."

"The place was overrun last time I saw it," Otis said looking around to the faces in the room, "you couldn't get near it. Maybe its better now."

Shane nodded his head, and smirked, "I said, leave the rest to me. Is it too late to take that back?"

"I hate you going alone," Rick said looking at his friend.

"Come on. Doc, why don't you do me a list and draw me a map," Shane said looking to Hershal.

"You won't need a map," Otis said looking up to Shane and meeting his gaze, "I'll take you there. Ain't but five miles."

"Otis, no," the blonde woman said from behind Hershal.

"Honey, we don't have time for guesswork, and I am the one responsible," Otis said to the woman, "I ain't gonna sit here while this fella takes this on alone. I'll be alright."

"Are you sure about this?" Shane looked over to the man.

"You even know what any of the stuff he's talking about looks like?" Otis asked looking to Shane.

"Come to think, no," Shane shook his head.

"I've been a volunteer EMT, I do. Now we can talk about this till next Sunday or we could just go do it real quick," Otis said looking to Shane.

"I'll take real quick," Shane said.

"I should thank you," Rick said looking to the man.

"Wait till that boy of yours is up and around. Then we'll talk. I'll gather some things," Otis said then he walked out.

The brown-haired woman walked up to Rick, "where is she, your wife?"

"In the forest," Rick said pointing out the window, "should be around the creek, but if not they should be at the highway."

She nodded her head and stuck a hand out, "Maggie."

"Rick," he said shaking her hand.

"I'll go get your wife," she said, "she with anyone else?"

"A group of people," Rick said, "lost a couple of people in the forest, and we had just found 'em. They're on the way back to the highway right now."

"I'll make sure to give them instructions on how to get here," she nodded her head walking out the front door and over to the stables. Rick watched as she rode out into the field on a horse, and disappear into the forest

* * *

"C'mon we gotta start heading back," Daryl said picking up Valora who had passed out again, "it's getting dark."

"What about Shane and Rick?" Jacqui asked looking to him.

"And Carl?" Lori added.

"They know the way back," Daryl said grunting as he adjusted Valora in his arms, "we're losing daylight now, and Val ain't doin so good. She needs water and none of us were smart enough to fucking pack some."

Everyone quietly nodded their heads and followed behind Daryl, not too long after Carol asked, "about how far are we?"

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards," Daryl said looking around and mumbles, "as the crow flies."

"Too bad were not crows," Amy muttered drifting away from the group.

As she was stepping over logs she got caught in a web and muttered under her breath, " as the crow flies, my ass."

Then she was suddenly pushed to the ground, and she screamed at the top of her lungs as a walker bit into her arm. Andrea panicked and was now running in the direction of her sisters scream of agony. Once they reached her a girl riding in on a horse swung the bat and hit the walker in the head. Andrea rushed up to her sister. She picked her up in her arms and was sobbing.

"Lori? Is Lori Grimes here?" the woman asked riding back into the scene.

"Y-yes, I'm Lori, what happened?" she quickly asked.

"You're sons been shot," she said looking down to the girl who was bit, "get on the horse, and put the girl who got bit as well up here."

Nobody argued as Lori hopped up on the horse, and Glenn helped Andrea get Amy on the horse. The girl explained to them on how to get to their farm, and once they were on the horse they were gone. Everyone looked around in shock, and then they headed back to the RV.


	20. Scared

"M-my sister," Andrea choked out, "s-she was b-bit."

"It's okay Andrea," Glenn said grabbing her wrist, "she's gonna be okay."

Andrea looked at him in shock, and she looked to all of the scared faces around her, "can't believe you guys just fuckin let them go," Daryl said walking away, "could be fuckin bad group a people for all we know."

"Not helping Daryl," Glenn said through clenched teeth back at him.

Daryl shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the highway, "c'mon, lets get back and head to where they are," Steven sighed falling into step with Daryl, "the sooner, the better chance we have of being able to do something for Amy."

Everyone began going back to the highway faster than before, and Steven rushed up to where Dale was standing on the other side of the guardrail, "shot? What do you mean shot?"

"I don't know Dale," Steven panted getting over the guardrail, "all I know is that this girl came in on a horse, said he was shot, took Lori, and Amy.. Amy was bit by a walker in the woods. Andrea isn't taking it too well, I think she's in shock."

"You let her take them?" Dale asked looking to Daryl who was struggling to get over the guardrail with Valora in his arms.

"Climb down outta my asshole, old man," Daryl grunted, "couldn't do nothing with her in my arms. 'Sides, chick knew hers and Carls names, said Rick sent her."

"I heard screams," Dale said and he went quiet when Steven put a hand on his shoulder.

Andrea slowly made her way to the RV with Glenn helping her out. Daryl was quickly making his way over to the truck where Jenner was. He saw that the back wasn't open so he kicked it, and shouted. Jenner slid the back open and Daryl immediately set her on the back.

"She's been out for a while," Daryl said trying to keep his cool, "is she okay?"

Jenner went straight to her and checked her temperature, and then he put his fingers to her neck checking for a pulse, "she's fine, but she seems to be running a fever."

Daryls heart stopped at what he said, "you say that again- didn't quite catch it?"

"She's running a fever, see feel her forehead," Jenner said grabbing his hand and put it to her forehead to feel the heat coming from her skin.

"She wasn't like that when I was carrying her," Daryl said looking up to Jenner.

"You probably weren't paying that much attention," Jenner said hopping out of the truck, "seeing as she was there, and passed out all of a sudden- your first thought was probably to get her back here."

"What does she need?" Daryl asked looking from Jenner to Valora, and back to Jenner.

"Water, medicine," Jenner said with his hand to his chin, "lots of rest. She won't be moving until her fever goes away."

"Is she gonna be okay?" Melanies little voice came from inside the truck.

Jenner looked up to see the worried looks on his kids' faces, "yeah, she'll be alright. She's just sick, that's all."

"Is it okay if we keep this on the down low," Daryl asked in a quiet tone, "don't need everyone to get worried about something like this."

Jenner nodded his head, "just keep everyone away, and that should keep them from knowing."

Daryl nodded his head and looked up to Jenner, "who's gonna be drivin your car now that Rick ain't here?"

"I'll drive," Jenner said looking in the truck, "I'm a little rusty when it comes to driving big trucks like this though."

"Come help me get my bike in the back," Daryl said grabbing Jenners arm, "I'll drive the truck 'cause you don't know how to drive."

"You can read me that easily?" Jenner laughed following Daryl to where he left his bike.

"Yup," Daryl said popping the p, "gonna need to learn to lie better, doc."

"Guess I am," Jenner laughed as they approached his bike. Daryl kicked the kickstand and began walking his bike back not wanting to waste gas. The two of them were getting odd looks from the group as they brought the bike back to the truck. Lifting it into the truck wasn't a problem, Jenner was way stronger than he had appeared to be.

Daryl looked to Jenner, and then headed over to everyone who was standing around T-dog, "whats wrong with Dog?" Daryl asked walking up to the group.

"He's got a serious blood infection, and if we don't get him some antibiotics soon he's going to die from it," Dale said looking at T-dog hunched over under a blanket.

"The hell you didn't tell be before," Darly groaned walking back to the Truck and grabbed Merle's stash and walked back, "Crystal, x. Don't need that. Got some kickass painkillers," Daryl said tossing the bottle to Dale, "Oxycylene," Daryl tossed the bottle to Dale, "not the generic stuff neither. It's first class. Merle got the Clap on occasion."

After that Daryl walked back to the truck and looked to see that Valora was awake. She was panting and looking around in a panic. She was sweating, and she looked like some caged animal when she looked to him. She looked terrified. Daryl got closer to her, and he saw her tense up.

"Val, Val, it's me," Daryl said moving a little closer, "it's Daryl. You're safe now."

He saw her relax slightly and she looked around slower this time, "w-where am I?"  
"You're back in the truck," Daryl said now hopping up in the truck and getting next to her, "found you in that church."

"Oh my god! Where's Sophia!? Is she okay?" she panicked grabbing onto my arms and looking around.

"Shhh, its okay, Sophia's fine," Daryl said, and he lifted a hand to her burning face and moved a hair out of the way, "you protected her until we could get there."

"Thank god," she sighed now calming down, but she was still sweating from the heat of the fever.

Daryl dug around in his brothers stash for a bottle of Ibuprofen and got a couple of the pills and held them out for her, "take these, they'll help the fever."

She slowly nodded up to him, and took the medicine. She popped the pills in her mouth, and Daryl handed her an open water bottle. She nodded to him and took a nice long drink of the water. She didn't stop drinking it until it was gone. She hadn't realized it until Daryl chuckled from where he was leaning on his bike that was in the back of the truck.

She looked over to him and saw that famous smirk of his, "if I knew you were that thirsty I'd a got myself a water bottle."

"Sorry," she nervously laughed.

"It's fine," Daryl nodded to her, "Shane and Glenn found this truck full a water."

"Could you get me one jug?" she asked laughing, "so thirsty I could drink an ocean. And I feel really hot too."

"Well you are," Daryl smirked at her and she looked to him while blushing, "I'll go get ya some water."  
Daryl hopped out the back and saw Jenner walking up to the truck with his kids, "were all setting out now."

"I gotta go get Val some water," Daryl said to him, "be right there."

He nodded to Daryl before walking the rest of the way to the truck and getting his kids in the back. Daryl walked over to the water truck, and got two jugs of water and carried them to the truck. He nodded to Dale who was curiously eyeing him from inside the RV. Once Daryl was back to the truck he opened the back that was now closed again. When he opened in Valora was on the floor and her breathing came out it short breaths.

"Holy shit," Daryl said dropping the jugs of water and rushing to her side, "she okay?"

"Yeah, all of a sudden she said she was dizzy, and she passed out," Jenner said.

Steven walked up to the back of the truck and he was about to shout when he saw his mom but Daryl quickly covered the boys mouth, "shhh."

Steven yelled some things into Daryls hand that weren't audible. Steven licked Daryls hand and Daryl pulled his hand away wiping the spit on his shirt. In that moment Steven was at his mom's side, and she was still. Daryl was at her side.

"She just passed out from the lack of water," Jenner said, "she's been without water for too long. She needs to get some now."

Daryl was to the back of the truck and picked up one of the jugs and popped the lid off. He sat Valora up and she was slowly waking up. She saw that Daryl was holding the jug of water near her. She reached for it, and Daryl tipped the jug back pouring it out over her. She drank as much as she could and held a hand out for Daryl to stop pouring the water.

"T-thanks," she panted, "I think I'll take a nap now," she said her voice fading as her body went limp.

"What happened to her?" Steven asked in a panic, "is she going to be okay?"

"Shut up, do you want the whole fucking camp to know she has a fever?" Daryl said picking up the boy, "c'mon we're sitting in front."

Daryl sat in the drivers seat and Steven sat next to him in the passenger's seat, "it is 'the' fever?"

"I don't know," Daryl said turning the keys in the ignition and banging his head on the steering wheel, "that's what's scarin the hell outta me."

Steven looked at Daryl with shock etched into his features. He looked back to Jenner who grabbed someone's pack to use as a pillow for Valora. He looked back to Daryl who still had his head on the wheel. Steven reached out and hesitated before he put his hand on the mans shoulder.

"Lets go," Steven said gulping the lump in his throat, "we don't want the rest of the group worrying."

Daryl looked up to him and took in a deep breath before looking ahead, and the CB crackled, "everything alright back there?" Dale's voice came over the radio.

Daryl reached out and grabbed the walkie before talking, "yeah, just Valora worrying about Amy, that's it."

He waited to let go of the button on the walkie and then Dale's voice came over it, "we are too."

Then the radio went quiet and Daryl started up the truck. He followed closely behind the RV thinking about Valora the entire time. He kept thinking how much faster they would be going if he was in the front.

"Daryl!" Steven shouted snapping him out of his thoughts, and he saw that he was about to crash into the median.

"Shit!" Daryl shouted turning the wheel causing his bike in the back to fall down.

"Everything alright back there?" Glenns voice came over the CB.

Steven grabbed the walkie, "yeah, Daryl just messing around."

An unsure yeah came over the CB, and then everything went quiet, "the hell was that about?" Steven asked.

"I don't know," Daryl grumbled gripping the wheel to the point his knuckles turned white, "just to much to think about."

"Want me to drive?" Steven asked.

"Nah, we should be getting there soon," Daryl said letting his grip loosen.

Steven looked to the manwith unease settling itself in the bottom of his stomach, "okay."

Then the rest of the trip was quiet. It was already pitch black outside as they were not even three quarters of the way there yet. Steven looked out his window looking at the occasional walker he saw every fifteen minutes or so apart. Those walkers worried Steven slightly, thinking that they might catch up with them at some point. He sat there biting his nail and he heard a chuckle come from Daryl.

"What?" Steven asked raising an eyebrow to the man.

"Your mom," Daryl chuckled, "when she was keeping watch the night I came back, I was biting my nails, and cleaning it out with my knife. She told me i'd do a terrible job at doing nails. You biting on your nail made me think of that."

"That seems like something she'd say," Steven laughed looking to the back of the truck to see Jenner getting a piece of clothing wet and putting it on his moms face.

"She really likes you, you know," Steven said looking to Daryl.

"Nah," Daryl said looking to Steven, "ain't no one like a Dixon."

Steven laughed, "the way she looks at you," Steven looked to him, "she's never looked at anyone like that before."

Daryl just shook his head and looked to his hand on the wheel, and Steven went on, "don't you tell me she looks at you with hate, 'cause I've seen her hate look before. She's never looked at any other man like that before. She really cares about you Daryl."

Daryl kept quiet thinking about how he felt about Valora. He really liked her, he didn't like her like the other girls he hooked up with in the past. It was, different. He didn't know how to explain it, but he was scared of it.

Daryl looked to Steven who was staring at him with a serious look, "I care 'bout your mom," Daryl started and looked back to the road, "I just can't explain what it is that I feel for her. I-its like whenever I'm around her I can be myself. Not the stupid hardass redneck I appear to be."

"Idiot," Daryl heard Steven laugh.

"What was that?" Daryl asked with his head snapping to him.

"Idiot," Steven said slower like he wouldn't understand if he said it normally, "you're in love."

"The hell are you talking 'bout?" Daryl asked now completely confused at the situation.

"You're in love dumbass," Steven laughed crossing his arms over his chest and putting a hand to his head, "dammit, I'm gonna have to start calling you dad."

"What the hell?" Daryl asked looking at the man squinting his eyes, "you're gonna have to explain what in the hell are you talking about."

"First of all, you have kissed my mom in front of the camp," Steven said holding up one finger, and then another one, "second you just admitted that you could be yourself around her, and thirdly you're worried about her."

Daryl looked out to the road ahead of him processing what Steven said and banged his head on the wheel and looked back up, "fuck."

"Don't worry," Steven laughed, "it'll be okay, daddy," Steven tried to cover his laugh but he let it go.

"Fucker," Daryl muttered under his breath, "you're lucky I don't crash this car right now."

"Isn't the saying 'I'll turn this car around'?" Steven asked.

"Dixon version," Daryl smirked to the man, "get used to it."

That caused Steven to laugh, "can't call ya daddy till ya guys get married. Too bad, I was looking forward to it."

"Damn shame," Daryl smirked watching the RV turning up ahead.

Daryl turned the truck trying so that he would bang up the RV anymore than it already was. Once he made the turn he looked to see the house on the top of the hill with the lights on. He saw someone on the porch stand up. Not too long after there were more people piling out of the house. They were now to the gate to the fence around the house being opened by someone. Daryl went and bit his thumb nail as he pulled the car to a stop. He opened his door and hopped out to where everyone was meeting Rick and Lori in front of the house.

"How is he?" Dale asked.

"We don't know," Rick's voice was strained and he was really pale, "Shane hasn't come back with the supplies we need for the surgery yet."

"T-dog has got a really bad cut," Dale spoke out, "he's got a blood infection, can you help him out?"

A blonde woman nodded her head, "c'mon in, I'll fix ya up."

T-dog slightly nodded to the woman and followed her inside the building. Daryl was to the back of the truck, and he opened the back. Jenner looked over his shoulder to him and nodded to him as he hopped in the back. Daryl looked down to Valora over Jenners shoulder, then up to the two kids staring at Valora with scared expressions.

"She'll pull through," Steven smiled to the two kids from his place in the passengers seat and climbed in back, "don't worry, she's a fighter. She'll be up and ready in no time."

The two kids looked up to him and they both sadly smiled and Kayden spoke up, "one of dad's friends' friends got a fever, when they woke up they tried to eat them."

Stevens face went to complete shock, and Kayden kept talking, "she was a nice lady too. She had a fever, just like Valora."

"She isn't gonna wake up and eat anyone is she?" Melanies little voice choked out.

"What the hell is going on?" Dale asked from the ground, "does she have 'the' fever?"

"We don't know," Jenner said looking from Valora to Dale, "all we know is she has a fever. We don't know if it's 'the' fever."

"Dear god," Dale spoke out then raised his hands up, "when were you going to plan on telling us about this?"

"We weren't," Daryl said hopping to the ground, "no you keep your damn mouth shut about this, or else."

Dale gulped and backed up, "I have to tell them. I'm sorry Daryl."

"Fucking don't," Daryl said in a harsh whisper, "don't fucking tell them or they'll put a bullet in her head the moment they know she has a fever."

Dale's eyes went wide and looked to Daryl, "I-I have to. It's not safe."

"I'll take care of it if it comes to that," Daryl said looking at Dale with fear showing in his squinted blue eyes, "just don't tell anyone... p-please?"

"D-did you just say what I think-?" Dale stuttered.

"Yes!" Daryl said through clenched teeth, "don't tell anyone about her. If they have to know I'll tell them myself."

Dale looked to the man in shock, and then shook his head, "I won't son, but you have to. Tomorrow."

Daryl looked up to the man, and took in a deep breath, "whatever," he blew out as he hopped back in the truck.

Daryl went and took a seat next to Jenner and looked to Valora laying on the ground. Her breaths coming in short gasps as Jenner patted her face with a damp cloth. She was still burning up after he had given her the medicine. A while later Daryl hadn't realized he was holding Valoras hand until she had squeezed it tight. Daryl moved closer now on his knees leaning over her body. Her eyes were slightly opening, and she slowly looked around the truck her eyes landing on Daryl.

"H-hey," she breathed out.

"Hey," Daryl sadly smiled down pushing some hair out of her face, "how ya feeling?"

"Like shit," she took in a deep breath, "where's Steven?"

"Over here mom," Steven said now walking up to her side, "what you need?"

"Just wanted to know if you were here," she said and swallowed hard followed by short gasps of air, "w-water."

Daryl looked at his left to see Jenner handing him a waterbottle, and he took it nodding to him, "you're gonna have to sit up."

Valora slowly sat up with her face cringing as she did so. Daryl lifted the bottle to her lips and let her drink. She pulled her head away from the bottle and gasped loudly. Daryl helped her get comfortable sitting there, and she nodded her head slowly to him.

"Fuck," she mumbled under her breath, "I feel so weak."

"Have her take these," Jenner said and Daryl looked up to see Jenner holding the bottle of Ibuprofen from his brothers stash.

Daryl took them and looked to Valora, "open up," Daryl said and she slightly opened her mouth.

Daryl put them in her mouth, and grabbed the water from where he set in down next to him, "drink this," Daryl said and she moved her head to the water bottle and took a sip.

"What the hell happened?" she asked her eyes glassy as she looked at the worried faces around her.

"You had a stroke before," Jenner said, "Heatstroke to be exact. You're an idiot for not drinking the required amount of water."

"Sorry, but I thought that the kids could use it more than I did," she said and that was followed by a harsh cough.

Daryl moved closer to her and he put up a hand for him to stop, "just a cough, nothing bad."

Daryl didn't move from where he was as he watched her move herself to a more comfortable position. She sighed as she leaned her head back against the wall of the truck. Daryl looked up to Jenner who was staring down at her with his brow furrowed. Daryl then looked to the kids that were sitting behind the seats in the front. They both looked scared, and sad.

"It's gonna be okay," Jenner said walking over to his kids, "she's going to be fine."

The two kids nodded their heads and Jenner sat down and pulled them close to him. Daryl looked to Jenner who was now looking to him. He nodded his head to the man, and then he was back to looking at Valora. The woman who had made him open up, the woman who had broken down his brick wall and made herself a little home behind it. She did it with ease, and he didn't bother to stop her from doing so.

He wanted to tell her, but he was too scared that she would somehow not feel the way he expected her to. He was scared that it would end up hurting him more than he already was. He was scared to lose her, he was scared that he'd never get to talk to her the same way he did before.

He was going to do it, he was going to tell her, "Val," Daryl said running a hand over her cheek and tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Hm," she said looking up to him with glassy eyes.

"I-I," Daryl stuttered, and then took in a deep breath and looked at her in the eyes, "I love you," he breathed out.

Valora was at a loss for words, and she felt her face heat up more than it had been, "I-I," she stuttered and saw him look at her with his eyes holding hope, "I-I love you, too."

Relief went through Daryls body, but then was replaced with fear. Valora's body went limp and he saw her eyes closed. Daryl began to shake her, but she wasn't responding. He felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked up to see Jenner standing there.

"They have to know now," Jenner said, "they are doctors if they can help T-dog with his cut."  
Daryl looked between them, and then nodded his head picking up Valora. He made his way to the back, and slowly climbed out. He rushed to front door with Valora in his arms. Maggie rushed up to him, and looked to Valora and she rushed him into another room. He carefully set her on the bed, and the blonde woman from before came into the room.

"What's wrong with her?" she asked sitting down and putting the stethoscope to her heart.

"She's got a fever," Daryl said with his hand on his neck, "her body went limp just now. Is she gonna be alright?"

"Her heartbeat's faint," she said taking the stethoscope from her chest, "what's her water intake been recently?"

"Hasn't had much in a while," Daryl said sitting in the chair by the bed, "she gonna be okay?"

"She could be going into shock," the woman said, "we need to get her feet elevated. Grab me those pillows over there."

She pointed to some pillows on the bed that weren't being used and Daryl handed them over to her. She lifted Valoras legs and put the pillows under. She looked over to Maggie and told her to go and get some things. Daryl looked from the woman and Valora and then to his feet on the ground. He put his head in his hands and sighed.

"She's going to be okay," Daryl heard the woman say, "she'll be okay as long as she stays here and gets some rest. She'd going to need a respirator though."

"What's that?" Daryl asked raising an eyebrow to her.

"The thing in the hospital that people have to help them breath," she said, "Shane's coming back with one, but Carl's going to need it for his surgery."

"Can you just use it afterwards?" Daryl asked.

"No we can't," she sighed looking to him, "we'll have to keep an eye on her. If she struggles with breathing and I'm not around start giving her CPR. Shout for me, and I'll come running."

Daryl nodded his head slightly and Maggie came back into the room with the things she needed. The blonde-woman poked Valora with the needle and connected it to the bag of water she brought. Maggie was holding it up until the blonde woman when and brought something in to hold it up.

Daryl watched as the two women did their work, and once they finished they left the room. Daryl looked to Valora who was laying on the bed her chest slowly rising and falling. Her lips slightly parted and her hair sprawled across the bed. He scooted his chair closer and leaned on the bed so his face was above hers. He gingerly rubbed his thumb across her cheek. He smiled down to her before planting a kiss on her forehead.

He went and sat back in the chair and held her hand. She was slowly cooling down, and she was starting to look her normal color again. He sighed in relief and he looked up at the sound of the door opening. He saw that it was Steven walking in and he nodded to him. Steven shut the door quietly behind him and sat down in the chair on the other side of the bed.

"How is she?" Steven asked looking to him mom then up to Daryl.

"She's in shock," Daryl said brushing his thumb over her knuckles, "that woman said that she'd be okay."

Steven slowly nodded his head and sat back in his chair sighing, "thank fucking god."

"Yeah," Daryl said leaning back, "the only thing that could happen is she had trouble breathing while this happens."

"That's not good," Steven said lifting his head.

Daryl nodded his head and kept his attention on the rising and falling of her chest, "I'm not leaving her side 'till she wakes up, in case somethin happens."

"I'm staying too," Steven said sitting forward in his chair.

"Do whatever you want," Daryl said still sitting there looking at Valora worry still written on his face, "just saying you might get bored just sitting there."

This made Steven laugh, "I was never one to like being bored."

"Then you're in for a lot of fun," Daryl smirked looking up to Steven.

"Ah, you old people and being boring," Steven said standing up, "I'm outta here," he said leaving the room.

When the door clicked shut Daryl adjusted himself in his chair and kept his eyes on Valora. He wanted her to wake up so he could hear her laugh, see her smile, but he knew he'd have to wait. The rest of the night he stayed awake at her side the entire time. Holding her hand making promises in his head to her, and hoping she would wake up soon.


	21. Fighting

Daryl waited for Valora to wake up, and the next morning right around dawn she woke up. Daryl was on his feet, and he was telling her to stay still. She was looking up at him with confused eyes. He sat back down once she had calmed down.

"Where am I?" she asked looking around the room.

"You gonna ask that every time you wake up?" Daryl smirked at her.

"Well I wake up in a different place every time I wake up, so probably," she said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Daryl chuckled and squeezed her hand, "its good to have you back."

"Good to be back," she sighed, "that dream about seeing Dale dance to 'I Like To Move It' in a speedo is burned into my mind now. Ugh, I'm scarred for life."

Daryl let out a laugh, "well, that's not something I wanted to picture."

"You're welcome," she smiled to him and she started laughing.

Daryl laughed at her, and looked up when he heard the door click open. He saw Dale standing there, and he grimaced at the image now burning in his mind. He put a hand to his forehead to make it look like he had a headache, and he heard Valora giggling on the bed.

"Just wanted to check on ya," Dale said looking down to Valora, "guess you're doing fine, but if Daryl was the one who made her giggle like crazy I'll be a little worried."

"S-see ya Dale," Valora said between her giggles.

He nodded to her before taking a glance to Daryl who was grabbing at his head. Dale shook his head and when the door closed Daryl sighed in relief. This only caused Valora to laugh more.

"Oh, my, god," Valora said trying to calm her laughs, "y-your face when you saw him! Oh my god! It was priceless!"

Daryl glared at her and sighed and chuckled, "that was a disgusting image you gave me."

After Valora got over her second laughing fit, Daryl said he'd be back in a bit. He was a little unsure about leaving her alone ever again, but he didn't want to freak anybody out. He left the room leaving the door slightly open as he stepped into the hallway. He looked down the hall to see the woman who had helped Valora sitting at the table sobbing. He approached her and put a hand on her back, she jumped and when she saw it was just him she relaxed.

"Hello..." she trailed off.

"Daryl," he said standing at her side, "what happened?"

"My husband went with Shane last night," she took in a deep breath and wiped away her tears with her handkerchief, "he didn't make it back, and Amy, oh the poor girl."

Daryl looked down to her, "what happened?"

She took in another breath, "poor girl, we did all we could. Hershal even took her arm off to see if the infection would stop. She's asleep right now, we'll just have to see what happens."

"I'm sorry about your husband," Daryl said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Its fine," she said taking in a deep breath, "so how's your wife?"

Daryl raised an eyebrow to her and tried to talk but nothing came out, "she is your wife, right?"

"I'd say more like girlfriend," Daryl said thinking about it, "but yeah, she woke up and told me about her dream she was glad to wake up from."

"That's good," she smiled, "that means she didn't go into shock, just showed signs of it. She should be able to move around by tomorrow."

"That's good news," Daryl said, "she had me really worried."

"I could tell," she smiled up at him, "just glancing at you from behind anyone would be able to tell that you were worried."

"Was it really that easy to tell?" Daryl uneasily asked rubbing the back of his neck.

She slightly laughed, "yeah, no man I've ever met has been able to hide the worry they had for someone they cared deeply about."

Daryl nodded his head, and then remembered what he left for, "uh, if you don't mind me asking, is there any food that Val's allowed to have?"

"Yes," she smiled up at him and stood up, "I'll go get something from the kitchen."

She went in the kitchen then came back with an apple, "Patricia," she smiled handing him the apple.

"Thanks," he nodded to her before heading back to where Valora was.

"Hey," Daryl said opening the door to see Valora now sitting up in bed, "got ya something to eat."

"God, I thought my stomach was going to have to eat itself," Valora sighed catching the apple Daryl threw to her, "so where's everybody else?"

"Carl got shot," Daryl said and Valora spit out the piece of apple she had in her mouth.

"What?!" she shouted to him.

"He's okay though," Daryl said holding his hands up, "and Amy got bit."

"When?" she shouted looking at him with wide eyes.

"When we were on our way back to the RV," Daryl said sitting down in the chair, "girl wandered off and walker got her. Lady who took care of you last night said they had cut her arm off to see if that could stop the infection from spreading."

"Jesus," Valoa said putting a hand to her mouth, "is Sophia okay at least?"

"She's fine," Daryl said looking up to her and moved to sit next to her on the bed, "you kept her safe until we got there."

"Thank god," Valora mumbled from behind her hand, and she looked to Daryl.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Daryl said resting his head on hers, and planted a kiss on top of her head.

Valora leaned into his chest enjoying the moment, and sighed. Here was that feeling of being safe creeping its way back to her.

"I love you," slipped out of Valoras mouth as she leaned into him.

Daryls grip tightened around her shoulder and he breathed out into her hair, "I love you, too."

Valora smiled and turned her head to him, and he smirked down at her. Valora felt her eyelids getting heavy, and Daryl put his hand to her chin. He moved his head down and crashed his lips on hers. Valora snaked her hands around his neck, and his arms made their way to the small of her back and pulled her closer to him. They were so into the kiss that they hadn't heard the door open.

"Oh my god!" Steven shouted covering his eyes, "my eyes."

The two pulled away from the kiss to see Steven acting like he had seen the grossest thing in his entire life. Valora smirked to herself and laughed at her son. Daryl sat there looking to the boy who he thought was making a big deal over something so small.

"Yes Steven, you need something?" Valora asked her tone sweet.

"I need to unsee something that can't be unseen," he said pulling himself together, "we're going to hold a funeral for Otis today. I just wanted to come and see if you were going to take part."

Valora's heart sank, "I'll be there."

"Patricia said you shouldn't move around," Daryl said looking down to Valora.

"I want to take part, and show my support for them," she said looking at her hands in her lap, "it's the right thing to do."

Daryl sighed and stood up. He put his arms under her legs and behind her back and picked her up. She squeaked when he did so, and Steven stared at him in shock.

"She said you shouldn't be moving around yourself so I'll have to carry ya out there," Daryl said walking around the bed.

"Thanks Daryl," Valora warmly smiled to him, and he replied with a grunt.

They walked to the front door, and stepped outside to see everyone standing in a circle around a pile of rocks. Daryl set her down as they approached the circle, and kept a hand on her hip to keep her steady. He looked around the circle to see the worried faces staring to Valora.

"Father of our lord, Jesus Christ. Praise be to him for the gift of our brother Otis," Hershal said closing his bible, "for his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, is our most precious asset. We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace. Shane, will you speak for Otis?"

Shane looked from the man, and to the field behind him, "I'm not good at it. I'm sorry."

"You were the last one with him," Patricia cried, "you shared his final moments. Please. I need to hear. I need to know his death had meaning."

"Okay," Shane said to the woman and looked to the ground as he tried to recall what had happened the night before, "we were about done. Almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping, it was bad. Ankle all swollen up. 'We've got to save the boy.' See, that's what he said. He gave me his backpack, and shoved me up ahead. 'Run,' he said. He said 'run, I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.' And when I looked back... If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl too. It was Otis. He saved us both. If any death ever had meaning, it was his."

Shane grabbed a rock from the wheelbarrow and set it on the pile that was growing. Patricia was tearing up, and she slowly turned around and cried into Maggie's shoulder. Valora looked around to the devastated looks on their families faces. She felt her own heart crack at the sound of the woman's cries. She felt herself tearing up, remembering Skylars death, and how devastating it was. She slowly lifted her hand to her face and rubbed at her eye.

"You okay?" Daryl asked from behind her.

"Yeah," she said taking in a deep breath, "just, remembering worse days."

He tightened his grip on her hip as he saw Rick approaching them. Rick looked down to the girl whose eyes were now red, and puffy from trying not to let the tears fall. He showed a look of pity to the girl, and Daryl caught it.

"How're you doing?" Ricks soft voice asked her.

"Fine," she sniffed, "just fine."

"She was just dehydrated," Daryl said eyeing the man, "passed out from it."

"Least it wasn't something really bad," Rick said smoothing back the hair on his head.

"How's Carl doing?" Valoras voice was soft as she smiled up to him.

"He'll pull through," he nodded down to her, "he'll pull through."

"That's good to hear," Valora sighed as she looked down and then back up to Rick, "heard anything on how Amy's doing?"

"Nah," he said shaking his head, "hope the girl pulls through okay. Andrea's taking it real hard."

"I know how she feels," Valora sighed looking up to Rick who was looking at her confusion written all over his face.

Valora took in a deep breath, and sighed looking back up to him, "my sister died of the fever a week after this happened."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Rick said looking from her to the ground and back.

"I'll be fine," Valora said with her voice strained, "I've been okay for at least two months now."

Rick sadly smiled at her before looking up and meeting Daryls gaze. The two men locked eyes and nodded to eachother. Valora was a little confused at the telepathic conversation they had. Once Rick nodded to Daryl he was heading over to where Hershal was standing at the front of his house.

"Daryl," Valora sighed, "I'm not gonna go sit in that room you know."

"I know," he shrugged, "I wasn't gonna make ya either. I'll have to stick with ya to make sure you don't fall or nothin."

Valora smiled to herself before she said, "so you're like my bitch today?"

"Don't push it," Daryl glared down at her, "or I'll lock you in that damned room."  
Valora laughed at his comment and looked over to T-dog and Dale who were walking over to one of the wells that were on the farm, "let's go help T-dog and Dale. See what they're doing," Valora said.

"Really? You had to pick out helping Dale?" Daryl groaned.

Valora laughed, "not intentionally."

"Whatever," Daryl blew out picking Valora back up and walking over to where Dale and T-dog were at the well.

Once he got to where they were he set her down, "getting some water?"

"Yeah," Dale said looking around with his hand hovering over his eyes blocking out the sun, "gonna need some close by, in case we all of a sudden need to go mobile."

"Smart man, thinking ahead of the game," Valora said slowly taking a step away from Daryls grasp. She felt her legs go weak and she began to fall but Daryl caught her before her knees hit the ground.

"Are you sure you should be up and around?" T-dog asked, "you were burnin up yesterday from what Steven was sayin."

"I'll be fine," she said smiling as Daryl helped her up, "can't stand sitting around on my ass. To think I was the laziest person before all of this started, and now I'm always wanting to move around."

T-dog nodded his head and began to pump the water out of the well. Dale wandered over to where the well was and peered inside. He heard growling coming from inside it, and when he turned around he saw T-dog lifting the ladle to his mouth to drink the water. Dale moved and pushed it out of his hand before he could take a drink.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you," Dale said and T-dog looked over to the well and back to Dale, "walker in the well. Who woulda thought."

Valoras eyes went wide and she looked up to Daryl, "I'll go get everyone. Watch Val for me," he walked away and began to run back to the group. Valoras legs went weak and she began to fall. T-dog was at her side and holding her up. She nodded to him as he walked her over to the wheelbarrow they rolled over there, and sat her down on it.

"Thanks T-dog," she smiled up to him.

"No problem," T-dog said looking back to Dale, and walked over to him.

Daryl then came back with Lori, Glenn, Maggie. and Shane. Everyone walked over to the well and looked down. Dale pulled out his flashlight and shined it down the well.

"Looks like we got ourselves a swimmer," Dale said trying to crack a joke.

"How long you think its been down there?" Glenn asked looking back up to everyone around him.

"Long enough to grow gills," Valora smirked from my spot in the wheelbarrow.

"We can't leave it in there. God knows what its doing to the water," Lori said looking up to everyone.

"We gotta get it out," Shane said looking at the walker in the well.

"Really? Would have never thought of that," Valora mumbled looking at her feet.

"Easy," T-dog said shifting his weight to the other leg, "put a bullet in his head. I'll get a rope."

"Heh, putting a bullet in its head is only going to contaminate the water more," Valora said looking at everyone.

Shane looked over to me and then back to everyone, "she's right. Can't risk it."

"So it has to come up alive?" T-dog asked looking to Shane.

"So to speak," Shane shrugged his shoulders.

"How do we get it out?" Daryl asked crossing his arms over his chest looking around the group.

Next thing you know the group was sending a canned ham down the well. As they lowered it down to the point it was right in front of the walkers face, the walker didn't go for it.

"He's not going for it," Dale said leaning over the edge of the well.

"Maybe its cause a canned ham don't kick and scream when you try to eat it," T-dog said.

"He's right," Loris said looking up to the group, "there's a reason the dead didn't come back to life and start raiding out cupboards."

Valora laughed from her spot over at the wheelbarrow and looked to the group and said, "we need live bait."

Everyone looked over to Valora, and then all of their gazes went to Glenn. Glenn looked around the group and shook his head.

Shane was now tying a rope around Glenn and Glenn said, "have I mentioned that I really like your new haircut? You have a nice shaved head."

Shane chuckled, "don't worry about it, bud. We're gonna get you outta here in one piece."

"Living piece. That living part is important," Glenn said taking the rope that Shane was handing him, and he took a deep breath, "nice and slow please."

"Good luck Glenn," Valora said smiling to him, and he looked over to her and gave her a thumbs up.

"We got you," Shane said grabbing onto the rope.

"You people are crazy," Maggie said looking around her.

"You wanna get it outta your well or not?" Shane said looking from her to the rope.

"Give us an eye there Maggie," Dale said to her and she moved over and looked into the well.

Then Glenn was being lowered into the well, slowly, like he'd asked, and Maggie looked down to him, "doin okay?"

"Yup, doing great," Glenn smiled up at her, and then looked down mumbling, "living the dream."

"Little lower," Maggie said trying to keep calm, "little lower."

Glenn was now right above the walker, and it was reaching up for him. Valora's gaze went over to the wate rpump, and she saw that it was tipping.

"Shane, the pump!" Valora shouted, and as she shouted the pump came out of the ground and was hurtling towards the well.

Glenns screams filled the air and T-dog dove for the pump, and held onto it. Then everyone was holding the rope right behind him. Shane was barking orders to everyone to pull him out, and Glenn was shouting at them to get him out. They now had T-dog off the ground, and they were all helping to get him out. They got him up and pulled him out of the well.

Valoras heart was racing as she watched everyone around Glenn helping him up to his feet, and Dale mumbled, "back to the drawing board."

Glenn stood up and grabbed the rope and shoved it into his hands, "says you."

Then the rope snapped to one side, and Dale began to pull on it. He moved up to the well to see that the rope was on the walker. He smirked and looked back to Glenn who was smirking as he tried to catch his breath.

Shane attached the rope to the horse, and then everyone grabbed onto the rope. They began to pull with Shane barking orders to them. Valora sat there and watched as the walker was pulled up and mostly out of the well. The walker was wrinkled and covered in god knows what. She felt like she was about to lose her lunch. She covered her mouth holding back the urge to, but let it out when the walker ripped in half.

She wiped her mouth and looked up to everyone who was holding back their urges to throw up, "should seal off this well," Dale said moving his hand.

"Yeah," Shane said rubbing his head, "might be a good idea."

"What do we do about-" Lori pointed to the walker but went quiet as T-dog bashed the walkers face in with the bar that came from the pump.

Maggie began to walk away with shock on her face. When T-dog finished with the walker he tossed the bar to the side and looked around to everyone.

"Good thing we didn't do anything stupid like shoot it," T-dog said glaring up at the group.

After that the other half of the walker was tossed into the well, and they sealed it off. Daryl walked over to Valora and picked her up to carry her back to the camp. Once he got there he set her on a chair where Melanie and Kayden were playing nearby.

"Thanks," she smiled up to him and he nodded his head.

"Valora!" Melanie shouted as she ran up to her and hugged her, and Kayden was right behind her.

"Hey guys," she said hugging them both, "miss me that much?"

"Yeah!" they both shouted, "we thought you were going to leave us," Kayden said looking down but keeping his eyes up at her.

"Don't worry," she smiled to the two of them, "I ain't going nowhere."

"Be right back," Daryl said down to her, "gonna go huntin."

She set the kids on the ground and caught his arm, and she pulled him over. He looked down at her, and she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down. She kissed him on the lips, and she smirked when she heard the ew's coming from the two kids.

"Promise me you'll come back," she said looking up to him.

"Don't worry, ain't no walker gonna take me down," he smirked down at her and gave her one more quick kiss before taking off.

She watched him until he was out of sight. She sighed and looked down and then to the two kids still standing in front of her. She smiled at them, and tousled their hair.

"So what do you guys wanna do?" she asked them, "can't move around though."

"We can color!" Melanie said, "I'll go get the coloring books!"

"I'll get the crayons!" Kayden shouted running after his sister.

"Thank you," Valora heard from behind her, and she looked back to see Carol standing there, "thank you for keeping Sophia safe."

Valora smiled up to the woman, "no problem. Just keep an eye out for her, can't do much when I can't stand on my own."

Carol slightly laughed, "I'll keep an eye on her, but really, thank you."

Valora smiled up to the woman, and she walked over to the RV. Valora looked over to the two kids running over to her with the goofiest grins she's ever seen. She began to laugh as they finally reached her and were now panting. The two of them fell to the ground in a heap and panted trying to catch their breath.

"You guys are crazy," Valora laughed as the two were on the ground.

Valora's smiled dropped when she saw Dale walking over with a worried look, "what happened?" she asked as he approached.

"It's Amy," was all Dale had to say and Valora stood up only to fall.

Dale was at her side and stood her up, "what happened?" she asked as he put her arm over his shoulder.

"S-she woke up a-a-a-and," Dale stuttered with his eyes wide, "its bad."

Dale was quiet the rest of the way as he help Valora into the house. Once they were in the living room they heard the screams coming from upstairs. Dale helped Valora up the stairs as fast as he could, and once they were upstairs the screams subsided.

"What happened?" Valora shouted as she walked into the room, but she covered her mouth when she saw Amy.

She was laying on the bed twitching with foam at the side of her mouth. Valora pushed herself away from Dale and was now next to Patricia who was standing by the bed Amy was in. She looked down to the girl with her hand still over her mouth.

"What's happening to her?" Valora asked swallowing the bile rising in her throat.

"I-I have no idea," she said, "I've never seen anything like this."

"Dale, go get Jenner," Valora said looking to the shocked old man, "he might know what's going on."

He nodded his head and he was out of the room in a flash, "what do we need to do to keep her stable?" Valora asked looking to the woman.

"We'll need to-," the woman stopped and bit her thumbnail, "I don't know, I can't remember."

Jenner came through the door, and he was now between the two of us. Valora was roughly shoved to the side so she had to sit on the bed to keep herself from falling. She looked to the man who was holding the girl still as her legs were twitching. It was a horrifying sight to see, and she was glad that Andrea wasn't here to see it.

"We just need to let her go through with it," Jenner said, "hold her still. We need to get her some restraints to keep her to the bed. Once she becomes conscious it's going to get ugly."

Patricia nodded her head to him and was out of the room. When she came back she had belts that we were going to use to keep her strapped to the bed. She was all strapped in, but she was still twitching. Her eyes were opening and they were looking around the room in a panic. Jenner pulled Valora from the bed as Amy let out a pain filled scream.

Valora held a hand to her mouth as she watched as the girl arched her back on the bed, "what's happening to her?"

"Her body is fighting the infection," Jenner said with his eyes watching her, "she's going to make it through it, but she won't be completely the same."

"What are you talking about?" Valora asked her eyes widening at the realization of what he was saying.

"The last place that was left standing, the last thing they told me is someone in their facility was bit, but their body fought the infection, and they pulled through. That's what she's doing now," Jenner said with his eyes widening as they looked from Amy to Valora.


	22. Hunting

At that moment Amy went quiet and her back still arched. She wasn't making any noise, and the only noise was the staggering breaths of those around her. Her eyes were open and they slowly rolled into the back of her head. Veins on her forehead were popping out underneath the skin. All noise in the room disappeared as she collapsed on the bed.

Patricia was at her side the moment her back hit the bed, and she was putting her hand to the girls head. She was cold, and she wasn't breathing. Patricia was about to perform CPR but Jenner pulled her back. Her eyes widened when she saw Amy on the bed taking in a breath of air. She was looking around the room searching the faces surrounding her.

"It's okay," Jenner said walking up to her side, "you're safe. Rest."

When he said that she looked at him, and then her eyes slowly closed. Her eyes had changed, the pupil had dissapeard. It was all just one color. Valora looked to Jenner for an answer and he shook his head.

"Once this happens to them, they lose their ability to see," Jenner said shaking his head, "its pretty much the same as dying in a world like this. You rely on your sense of sight the most now a days."

"So you're saying she can't see any more?" Valora took in a deep breath as she staggered to the bed to look at the now sleeping form of Amy.

Jenner nodded his head and moved his eyes to look at the shock filled expression that was on Valora's face, "sadly yes, but at least she's alive."

Valora slowly nodded her head an d then looked to Dale who was now standing in the doorway with Andrea right behind him. Valora smiled at her and then moved out of the way as Andrea rushed over to her sister. Andrea was at a loss for words, and she looked around the room to see if she could get answers to her unasked question.

"She's okay," Jenner smiled to her, and Andrea sat on the bed, "but she has lost her vision. We'll have to watch out for her now."

"As long as she's alive," Andrea said brushing some hair out of her sister's face.

"We'll leave you," Jenner said turning and heading towards the door. Dale walked over to Valora and offered to help her, but she shook her head. She slowly made her way out of the room, and leaned against the wall when she was out of the room. She felt a hand touch her shoulder, and she looked to see Patricia sadly smiling to her. She put Valora's arm over her shoulder and helped her down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"You must be hungry," Patricia said looking in the fridge.

"A little," Valora said resting her elbows on the table, and putting her head in her hands, "just been a bad week."

"I can only imagine," she said from the kitchen, "Steven told me about the little girl you saved. Brave girl, I know I wouldn't have been able to do something like that."

"It was my fault the geeks went after me," Valora shakily sighed, "I was the one to get out from under the car when they were still there. Its my fault that this happened to Carl and Amy. If I hadn't have been so stupid they would both be okay, and none of this would have happened."

"Don't talk like that," Patricia said harshly from the kitchen, "if you're gonna talk like that you can do it somewhere else."

Valora went quiet and just sat there with her head in her hands. She thought about this all being her fault, Amy getting bit, Otis dying, and Carl getting shot. It was all her fault. If she hadn't of gotten out from under that car so soon they would all be okay.

"Sweetie," Patricia said snapping Valora out of her thoughts, "none of this is your fault. There's no need to cry about it."

Valora reached up to her face now realizing that she was crying. She sniffed and grabbed her shirt and wiped away her tears. She looked to Patricia who was sadly smiling at her. She looked up and saw that her eyes felt pity, and sadness in them. Valora began to tear up again, and she didn't hold back her sobs. She rested her head in her arms on the table and cried. Patricia put a caring hand on her back, and cooed her as she cried.

"I-I'm sorry," Valora said wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, "I-I just-"

"Sh," Particia said sitting down across from her, "everyone needs a moment to let it out. It'll make you feel better. Go on, and then I can rant after you do."

Valora looked up to the woman, and took in a deep breath, "when this first started, I woke up, well my son had to wake me up. Took a shower, got dressed, you know like a normal day- except that we saw a walker go after the woman on the news. It was scary as hell I'll tell you that much," she said finishing wiping away her tears, "my sister and her husband came over, and m-my sister, she caught the flu. Died, and came back. Her husband shot her, and now she's resting peacefully. Later in that month, we had to go on a supply run, and I was attacked by one. Her husband pulled the walker off me, and he got bit. We ran into a man and his son there, and Josh used himself to distract the walkers so that we could get out," Valora choked out, and now she was crying, "we just left him there. We didn't even look back to see if he made it out. Just kept on running, but that night I didn't get much sleep. Thats when we ran into Rick, and we went to Atlanta. Got ourselves in some deep shit, and Glenn and the group saved our asses. Wouldn't be here without them," she smiled remembering Andrea aiming her gun at Rick with the safety on, "went back to camp. Met everyone, and then back to Atlanta to get the guns Rick dropped. That's when I picked up the two little ones when I was caught by a group of people protecting the retirement home. Headed back to camp where we were ambushed by walkers, and then we went to the CDC where we met Jenner. Those two kids we ran into happened to be his kids, pretty lucky chance in this world. Anyways, Jenner said that we were going to blow up along with the CDC but we got out, and I dragged his suicidal ass outta there with us. Then we were on the road to Fort Benning, and this is how we ended up here."

"Wow," she said her eyes wide, "that must have been tough."

"It was," Valora sighed, "but I wouldn't have made it without Steven, or Daryl."

"Wouldn't have made it this far if it weren't for Otis," Patricia sadly smiled, "lived a couple houses over from here. Been really close friends of the Greene's for a long time. Her daughter is engaged to Jimmy, but I know neither of them even like each other. I told them that they could call it off, but they don't want to disrespect the one who engaged them. Her mom said they should get married. I think that she's beginning to like your boy though," she laughed, "funny how easy it is to fall in love these days."

"Yeah," Valora laughed, "Daryl and I got together within the first week we met."

"Asked him if you were his wife," she smiled, "he got all defensive 'bout it saying 'no we just girlfriend and boyfriend.' Gosh never knew a boy like him would be defensive 'bout something like that."

Valora laughed, "its hard to imagine him getting all defensive over something like that."

"Guess he proved us both wrong," she smiled, and then put her hands on Valoras, "you got yourself a good man."

She smiled to her, and nodded, "I know, but he doesn't know that."

"Let's hope he finds out soon," she smiled to her and stood up, "how's about some scrambled eggs? Those sound good?"

"Delicious," Valora smiled to her and that made her laugh.

The smell of scrambled eggs filled the room, and Valoras stomach was growling. She hadn't eaten anything in a while, and that apple didn't stay down so that really didn't count. She was starving, and she was starting to think that her stomach was eating itself. Once the plate was in front of her she ate the eggs in a sloppy manner. Once she was done she looked up to Patricia to see a shocked look on her face.

"Haven't eaten in a long time," Valora nervously laughed, "guess I could have eaten a little slower."

"You know... its a compliment to the chef when you eat food so fast," she smiled at her, "I'm honored that you like my scrambled eggs so much."

Valora let out a laugh, "yeah, they were really good."

She heard a door open and she looked to the front door to see two small figures standing there. She smiled and slowly stood up. She thanked Patricia for the food and slowly made her way to the front door. She smiled down at Melanie and Kayden and put her hands on the back of their heads. She smiled to the two of them and began walking them back to the camp.

When she got there Daryl was walking into the camp. She smiled to him, and he nodded to her. She looked down to the two kids who were now dragging her over to the back of the truck. She followed them into the truck, and helped them up and in. Once she was in and sitting down with them.

"Look what I drew for Amy!" Melanie said holding up a picture of her holding Amy's hand.

Valora's heart ached and she smiled holding the picture, "I'm sure she'll love it."

"You really think so?" she asked pulling the picture back to her.

"I'm sure," Valora smiled rubbing the top of her head, "you should draw something for Carl, Rick, and Lori. I'm sure they'd appreciate it."

Melanie nodded her head and went and sat next to her brother who was already drawing. Valora smiled to the two kids who were still so innocent in this fucked up world. She sighed and looked out the back of the truck and to the trees beyond the fence.

"Hey Val," she heard someone say, and she looked to see Daryl standin there.

"Hey," she smiled at him, and got up and he helped her down and out of the truck, "how was hunting?"

"Sucked, only got a couple a squirrels," Daryl said looking down at her, "gonna take a horse out tomorrow, saw some buck tracks out there. Gonna go after it tomorrow."

"You and your squirrels," she laughed.

"Those squirrels kept this group fed," Daryl said looking down at her, and moving a little closer, "don't taste the best though."

"Yeah," she smiled up at him.

"I know something that tastes better," he smirked down his face just inches from hers.

"What might that be?" she smirked up at him before he closed the gap between them.

"Again!" they heard someone shout, "fuck! I need to make sure I stop walking in on this!"

They pulled away and looked to Steven who was covering his face with his hands. Valora let out a laugh and Daryl glared at him for coming in the middle of something he was doing. Steven peeked through his hands and then put his hands to his sides sighing.

"Thank god you two are done," Steven said.

"What do you need?" Daryl asked him nodding his head to the boy.

"Just wanted to check on my mom," he said, "and my mom's 'friend' happened to be here."

"I'm fine Steven," Valora smiled stepping next to Daryl, "did you need something sweetie?"

"I need to talk," he sighed and looked up to her.

"This boy problems?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's a girl," he sighed rubbing the back of his head.

"Quit being such a pussy and tell the girl," Daryl said to him, and Valora slapped his arm.

"Daryl!" she shouted and he just shrugged his shoulders.

"See, here's the thing," Steven said getting even more nervous and he lifted a hand up, "we kinda, uh, you know..."

"Steven!" she shouted, "are you serious?"

"Nice job," Daryl smirked to him.

"Not helping Daryl," Valora said through clenched teeth.

"Who said I was trying to help?" he asked her

"Just shut up," she said lifting a hand to him and took in a deep breath, "okay, so what happened?"

"Well, we, you know, and then after she was ignoring me," Steven said holding his hands out, "she won't even look at me now!"

"She's probably just confused," Valora said putting a hand on his shoulder, "she's got a lot going on in her mind now probably."

"So do I!" Steven shouted looking at his mom like she was crazy, "I've been thinking about her non stop, and she thinks that she can just do that to me?"

Valora felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Daryl, "let me talk to him."

She raised an eyebrow, and sighed. She shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the truck. She watched as Daryl put a hand on his shoulder and began walking away. She sighed and smiled as she watched the two of them. She smirked to herself and hopped back in the truck to help the kids with their drawings.

* * *

"You sure you want to go out there by yourself?" Valora asked as she helped Daryl buttoning up his shirt.

"I'll be fine," Daryl sighed, "I do better by myself anyways."

"Okay," she sighed smiling up to him, "make it back okay."

He smirked down at her and grabbed her chin and leaned forward to plant a kiss on her lips. When he pulled away to fast she frowned to him, and that made him chuckle.

"Be back before you know it," he said going past her and leaving his tent, "now get dressed."

"Tease," she mumbled as she watched him exit the tent.

She sighed and grabbed her clothes that were on the floor of the tent and began to get dressed. She grabbed a ponytail from her wrist and put her hair in a messy bun, and walked out of the tent. She held a hand over her eyes to block out the bright sun coming over the hill. Once she got sight of Steven walking back from the Greene's house she slightly frowned and made her way over to him.

"So what happened?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Second time!" he smiled really big holding up two proud fingers, "this time she isn't ignoring me!"

"Good for you," she smiled at him and put a hand on his arm, "just keep the sex talk to your friends."

"Yes ma'am," he said saluting her.

"Come on," she laughed turning around to the camp, "lets get breakfast started."

The day before Daryl had got a few squirrels, and he had already gutted them. Now all that they had to do was cook them. Steven got the fire ready while Valora went and got the squirrel. Once the squirrel was on the fire and cooking people started emerging from their tents to sit around the fire.

Once the squirrel was finished she passed out even shares for everyone, and they ate in silence. Valora watched as Glenn walked up to the group with a huge grin plastered on his face. That smiled reminded her of Daryl after they went into their tent last night. She was shocked that the little man had it in him.

"Glenn," Valora whispered when she was next to him, "did you, get it on with the farmers daughter?"

Glenn looked around the group, and he leaned in towards her, "if I did?"

"Didn't know ya had it in ya," she smirked down at him, "best try and not get caught though. We could get kicked off the farm."

"Whatever you say," Glenn sighed taking a bite out of the squirrel.

Valora laughed as she walked over to her seat on the other side of the fire, and she looked over her shoulder to see Daryl on the horse. She waved to him, and she saw the slight movement of his head and she smiled. He rode the horse into the forest where he had gone in the day before, and Valora watched him disappear into the trees.

* * *

Daryl had been riding on the horse for about an hour now, and still no luck in finding that buck. He was lucky enough to find one squirrel. Sitting there on the tree, just waiting. Daryl lifted his crossbow and aimed for the squirrel. Ten feet away, and he still got the squirrel right on mark. He smirked to himself, and got the horse to move. As he passed by the tree the squirrel was on he pulled on the bolt taking the squirrel with it. He pulled the squirrel off the bolt and stuffed it in his back pocket.

As he was riding through the trees following the trail, he looked down to see that the trail led down into the creek. He mounted off his horse and looked down into the creek. He wasn't able to see clearly through all of the trees blocking his vision. So he pulled his crossbow from his back, and made his descent. Once he got to the bottom, the tracks had disappeared into the trees on the other side. He mentally cursed to himself, and put his crossbow back on his back and made his way back up the hill.

Once he was back on his horse, he kept an eye on the creek to see if the buck had wandered back. No luck there. As he was keeping watch on the creek a flock of birds flew through the trees startling the horse. He slowed the horse, and tried to calm it down. He watched as the birds flew up and over the trees out of his sight. Once he was sure there were no more he got the horse moving again.

He was about halfway to to the other side when the horse began to freak. There was a snake on the ground that was hissing up at the horse. Daryl tried to calm the horse, but the horse kept on its hind legs trying to stay as far away from the snake as possible. Daryl kept a firm grip on the reins, but his hands slipped and he began falling down into the creek. He was rolling down the hill hitting every stump and branch scratching his face and arms. He had left the crossbow loaded and when he hit the bottom the clinking sound of the crossbow going off echoed in his ears. He hit his head on a rock going down the hill, and black dots were begining to incade his vision. He blinked once trying to block out the pain in his head and side as he made his way over to the sandbar in the middle of the creek.

He pulled out his hunting knife and slicing off his sleeves. He grunted as he tied the two together around the bolt sticking out from his side. He groaned biting the inside of his cheek as he tied it around the bolt securing it into place. He looked up to see how high he was going to have to climb to get out of the creek. He mentally cursed to himself about the damn horse being scared of a snake. Then he heard a rustling noise in a bush not too far from him. He reached behind him and not finding his crossbow in its usual place.

"Fuck," he grumbled, and looked around for it but no luck, "this is just my day ain't it?"

He grabbed a stick that was next to him and walked into the water. He groaned as the water touched his wound and caused it to sting. He moved the stick around the bottom of the water looking for his lost companion. He heard it hit something, and lifted it up to see the strap of his crossbow hanging from the stick, He grabbed his crossbow and he made his way back to the sandbar.

He walked over across the sandbar looking for the easiest part to climb. Once he had found it he put his crossbow on his back, and used the stick to pull himself up. Every time he did that the pain in his side would increase. Once he was about halfway he came across a part where the coil was loose. Every time he tried to get the stick in the ground the soul would move.

He tossed the stick and looked down. Once he was finished watching the stick fall all the way to the bottom he grunted as he reached for the closest thing there was. He had a grip on it, but lost it when he cringed from the pain in his side.

"Come on you done half," he said to himself looking down then back up, "quit bein such a pussy."

He took in a deep breath before jumping to a tree that was within reach, and stood there. He lost his grip again with the pain causing him to let go. He swung back to where he started and took in a deep breath. His grip on the tree loosened and he went tumbling back down. He reached out for anything he could grab onto, but any attempt was futile. He hit the bottom with a loud thud. He groaned as he had landed on his bad side, and the black dots invaded his vision. He tried to blink them away, but it was useless. He blacked out thinking about if he was going to die out here.

* * *

"Mr. Grimes," a young blonde girl said getting Lori's and Rick's attention from their conversation on whether it was a good idea to stay here or not, "my father would like to talk to you."

Rick nodded his head to the girl, and walked away with Lori holding onto his arm to try and stop him, but he kept walking. As he made his way over to where he was he looked around to everyone who was working on things. And the kids that were having fun playing tag in the middle of the yard. As he approached Hershal who was starting up the generator he stopped and looked to him with a hand on his hip.

"One of my horses is missin," Hershal said filling the tank with fuel, "did one of your people take it?"

"I was given the impression that you knew about that," Rick said plainly to him.

"I did not," Hershal said standing up and looking at him.

"I'll have a word with Daryl," Rick said shifting his weight to his other leg.

"And Jimmy?" Hershal said, "you took him out today. Did he also give you the impression of my concent?"

"No he said it outright. I took the boy by his word," Rick said standing there looking down at him.

"Also keep that kid o' yours away from my daughter, Steven was his name right?" Hershal said looking up from what he was working on, "I see the way he looks at her when she walks around outside."

"I'll have a word with him as well," Rick said looking to Steven who was helping Jimmy with wood cutting.

"Things need to be cleared with me," Hershal said.

"Sounds like we need to work on our communication," Rick said looking one way then back to Hershal, "what do you suggest?"

"Keep it simple," Hershal said nodding his head, "I'll control my people, you control yours."

Rick nodded his head, and turned and walked back to camp. Looking to Steven and Glenn who were now talking as they walked to the RV. RIck looked to Andrea who was climbing to the top of the RV sitting with Dale. He heard the news about what had happened to her sister, and how she was now going to have to live in this world without sight, and one arm.

* * *

Daryl could hear the sound of birds chirping as he was slowly waking up. His eyes opened at the sound of footsteps coming his way. He looked around, but it was no use because everything was a blur to him. Once things started to come into focus, right in front of his damned face was Merle, smirking down at him. He shook his head slowly blinking hard trying to see if it was just an illusion, but when he reopened his eyes he was still standing there.

"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy?" he said in a monotone, "you could bind your wound better."

Daryl smirked to himself at the thought that he had died and gone to hell wit his brother, "Merle."

"What's going on here?" Merle asked laughing at his brother, "you taking a Siesta or something?"

"Shitty day, bro," he mumbled his eyes barely open.

"Like me to get you a pillow?" Merle laughed, "maybe rub your feet?"

"Screw you," Daryl breathed out not having the energy to argue with his brother.

Merle chuckled, "you're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent tryin to make a man o' you, this what I get? Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here, brother. And for what?"

"Huntin," Daryl choked out, "followin a buck, horse knocked me off, here I am."

Merle laughed, "that's a pathetic way ta die."

"Not as bad as yours," Daryl said glaring up to him, "died a walker."

Merle glared down to him, "so hows sugar tits?"

"Just fine," Daryl mumbled not wanting to talk to him anymore.

"You two gettin it on?" Merle laughed down at him.

"Shut up," Daryl grumbled.

"You her bitch now?" Merle laughed down at him.

"I ain't nobody's bitch," Daryl said.

"You're a joke, is what you are," Merle said his voice harsh, "playin errand boy to a bunch o' pansy-asses, niggers, and democrats. You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. That's all you are. They're laughing at you behind your back. Sugar tits mostly, talkin 'bout how dumb you are."

"She ain't that kinda person," Daryl breathed out glaring up at him.

"How do you know that?" Merle said, "she could be the complete opposite of what you think."

"I know she ain't like that, man," Daryl said, "so screw you."

"Oh," Merle laughed, "I hit a soft spot there?"

Daryl stayed quiet which caused Merle to laugh more, "I did," he said his grin growing, "hey, they ain't your kin, you're blood. Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody ever gonna care about you except me, little brother. Ain't nobody ever will. C'mon, get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in."

Merle stood up and began to kick at his foot. Daryl blinked hard one more time before looked to his foot to see a walker gnawing at the rubber to his shoe. He scooted back only to have the walker going with him, and he kicked the walked in the face. He reached for his crossbow, but it was too far. The walker was now on top of him, and he punched it in the elbow, and socked it hard in the face. He rolled the walker over so he was on top, and the walker grabbed a lock of his hair and rolled back over so he was on top. Daryl then kicked the walker off of him, and grabbed the stick he had throw down the hill.

He went and sat on top of the walked and held it down. Once he knew the walker couldn't get away he smashed it's face it, and stabbed the stick threw its head for good measure. He took a deep breath in and snapped his head behind him to see another walker slowly approaching him. He back up and was now next to his crossbow, and he grabbed the bolt in his side and groaned as he pulled it out. Once it was out of his side he held the arrow in his mouth and pulled back on the crossbow. It locked into place and he quickly loaded the bolt, and laid down as he fired to bolt in the walkers head. The walker fell to the ground pushing the bolt deeper into his brain and Daryl rested his head on the ground trying to catch his breath, and he blacked out.


	23. Gunshot

Daryl was lying in the creek passed out from exhaustion from fighting off two walkers. He was beginning to regain consciousness. He shook his head side to side and opened his eyes after blinking hard. Once his vision was into focus he looked around to see the two walkers he had fought off before he blacked out. He slowly sat up and rubbed at his head which was pounding. He stood up once he realized that he still needed to rebind his wound. He took off his top shirt leaving only a tank top on, he folded the shirt to create a pad to put pressure on the wound so it would stop the bleeding.

"Son of a bitch was right," Daryl said looking down at his newly bound wound and he stood up and walked over to the log and sat down.

He pulled out the squirrel from his back pocket and put it on the log. Grabbing out his knife he splashed it around in the water before aiming it at the squirrel's chest. He pierced into the squirrel and cut through it. After he finished gutting the squirrel he jabbed his knife into the log, and reached into the squirrel and eating it. He licked his fingers clean as he ate, and looked around to watch for walkers. After his little meal he walked over to the walkers and looked down to them and smirking.

He took the shoelace off of one of the walkers boots, and pulled his knife out. He walked over to the head of the walker and cut off its ears. While doing the same to the other one. He strung the ears on the shoelace and tied the ends together making a necklace. He observed his work before smirking and putting it around his neck. While he did that he looked up to the cliff that he was going to have to climb. He grabbed his crossbow and hung it at his back and began his journey up the cliff.

As he made his way up the cliff with pain racking his body at almost every movement he looked down to see he had made it most of the way. He tried using the stick that he had used before, but threw it back down knowing it wasn't going to help anymore. He panted as he watched the stick fall, and jerked his head up at the sound of birds screeching.

"Please, don't feed the birds," Merles voice came from the top of the cliff, and Daryl looked up to see him smirking down at him and laughing, "what's the matter, Darylina? That all you got in you? Throw away that purse and climb."

"I liked you better when you were gone," Daryl said shoving himself up the side of the cliff a bit.

Merle laughed, "oh come on, don't be like that. I'm on your side?"

"Yeah," Daryl breathed out moving himself up a bit more, "since when?"

"Hell, since the day you were born, baby brother," Merle said moving his head to the side, "somebody had to look after your worthless ass."

Daryl grabbed onto a vine and moved a little bit more, "you never took care of me. You talk a big game but you was never there. Hell, you ain't here now, guess some things never change."

"Well I'll tell you what-," Merle laughed, "I'm as real as your Chupacabra."

"I know what I saw," Daryl said in a harsh tone glaring at his brother over his shoulder.

Merle laughed, "and I'm sure them shrooms you ate had nothing to do with it, right?"

"You best shut the hell up!" Daryl shouted turning himself around.

"Or whaaat?" Merle teased him, "you gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me? Well, come on and do it then, if you think you're man enough," he laughed, "hey, kick of them damn high heels and climb, son."

Daryl shook his head causing his headache to worsen and he groaned. he grabbed onto a tree sticking up from the ground and pulled himself up slightly.

"If I were you I'd take a pause for the cause, brother. 'Cause I just don't think you gonna make it to the top," Merle shook his head and then held his hand out, "come on, come on, little brother. Grab you brothers hand."

Daryl reached up and his hand hit the top. With one more pull the front half of his body was up. He took in one more deep breath before pulling himself the rest of the way up. Once he was up there he was standing and looking around. He was panting and his head was pounding, but Merle was nowhere in sight.

"Yeah, you better run!" he shouted into the forest that seemed to be empty.

His body collapsed into a heap on the ground. He held his head in his hands trying to calm the headache threatening to break his skull open. He groaned and put his head to the ground. Taking in one deep breath, and then another he slowly stood up feeling slightly better. He knew he had to make it back to camp before dark, and it was going to be a while at the speed he was going.

* * *

Valora looked around camp and her eyes landed on Carol who was slowly making her way to the laundry that Valora was working on. She smiled up to the woman as she sat down smiling back at her. She sighed after she had finished folding the rest of the clothes in the pile and looked to the beautiful landscape behind Carol. She caught Carol looking back to the scenery and sighing.

"Wish we stumbled upon this place sooner," Valora said smiling to Carol who turned around to her.

"Yeah, would have been nice," Carol said, "it's almost like the infection never happened here."

"Yeah," she sighed looking back to the field, "its peaceful."

"I've been thinking," Carol said catching Valora's attention, "that it would be nice to make dinner for the Greene's tonight. You know as repayment for what they've done for us."

Valora thought about it for a second, and nodded her head, "yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Why don't you go ask them?"

"Oh me? No," Carol laughed looking to the ground, "they'd probably say no if I asked."

"So that's why you came and told me?" Valora smiled to Carol who was now nervously smiling up to her, "I'll ask them, but you have to come along."

"Okay," she smiled and they both stood up making their way to the house.

Once they were up on the porch Valora knocked on the door before walking inside. She was greeted by a warm smile from Patricia who was peeking her head from the kitchen. She returned the smile, and Carol came out from behind Valora and smiled to her as well.

"You guys need something?" Patricia smiled walking up to the two.

"We were just thinking, would it be okay if we cooked dinner for you guys tonight?" Valora said holding her hands out, "as a repayment for everything you guys have done for us."

Patricia nodded her head, "that sounds like a great idea, you want to go get the girls from your camp?"

Valora nodded her head, "you guys go get started, I'll be right back."

The two of them nodded their heads, and Valora made her way back outside. She walked up to Lori who was talking to Glenn, and Glenn nodded to me before walking off.

"We were going to cook dinner for the Greene's tonight," Valora said smiling to Lori, "I was wondering if you'd want to join us?"

"I'll help out," Lori half smiled and made her way to the house.

Valora raised an eyebrow at the unusual behavior of the woman but shrugged it off, and began to walk back to the house. On her way she saw the kids all sitting near the fire within Dales line of sight from the RV. She smiled and made her way over to the group of kids.

"Hey Sophia and Melanie," Valora smiled squatting down next to the two girls, "you guys want to come help make dinner?"

The two looked to each other and vigorously nodded their heads while saying, "yes."

Valora smiled and stood up taking the two girl's hands and then looked to Kayden who was working on a drawing, "hey Kayden," Valora said and the kid looked up to her, "how about you go find Steven, I'm sure he'll play hunter with you."

Kayden smiled really big, and he was up on his feet running in the direction of his tent that he was in. Valora smiled as she saw Steven emerge from the tent sending a glare her way. She mentally laughed and made her way to the house. She walked in through the door and saw Maggie setting up the table for more people to sit at. She smiled to the brown-haired girl and walked into the kitchen.

"I thought that we could use a couple more hands," Valora smiled to the woman who were looking to the two girls.

"Definitely," Patricia smiled to the two girls, "how about you guys help and peel the potatoes?"

Melanie nodded her head, "yes! I love potatoes!" she said and then pulled at Valoras shirt and she leaned down to the girl, "what are potatoes?"

Valora smiled and picked the girl up setting her on the counter next to the sink. She reached over and grabbed a potato from the bucket, and smiled to Patricia who handed her a potato peeler.

"This is a potato," Valora smiled holding it up, and demonstrating how to peel it, "and you peel it like this."

"Okay, okay, okay," Melanie said quickly holding her hands out reaching for what I was holding, "I can do it now!"

"Okay," Valora smiled holding it out to the little girl, and positioning her hand so she wouldn't accidentally cut herself, "make sure that your hands are out of the way. You don't want to hurt yourself.

She shook her head side to side, "that would be bad."

"Yes it would," Valora smiled watching the girl peel the potato, "that was good."

"Yay!" Melanie squealed peeling the rest of the potato.

Valora smiled as she kept an eye on the little girl making sure she wouldn't cut herself. She also looked over to Sophia who was silently peeling the potatoes. Valora smiled and put a hand on the girls head telling her that she was also doing a great job. Her saying that brightened the girls mood, and she finished peeling the potatoes with a smile on her face.

"All done!" Melanie said really loud with a huge grin on her face.

"That was a great job you both did there," Patricia smiled to the two girls as she grabbed the bucket, "you guys had the biggest jobs."

"Anything else we can do?" Sophia asked looking up from the doll in her hands.

"How about you go with Valora to go and get us some water?" she smiled to the two girls.

Valora smiled and nodded to the three girls before leaving the house. Once she was outside she was looking up to Andrea who was standing on the top of the RV. She was holding Dale's Rifle in her hands and she was looking out to the field.

"You guys go get the bucket for the water for me okay?" Valora said quietly to the two girls and they headed out, and Valora made her way up the ladder, "what's up with the whole," Valora stopped and gestured her hand to Andrea, "what's going on?"

"I'm tired of doing laundry and cooking," Andrea said her voice stern, "I want to keep this place safe."

Valora nodded her head and looked out to the field with a hand over her eyes, "doing a great job. No walkers in sight. Keep up the good work," Valora smirked patting her on the arm.

Andrea glared to her before laughing, "I want to defend this place because you never know when walkers are going to appear anymore. Like what happened at camp? It could happen here. I just want to be prepared for it just in case something happens and I need to protect Amy."

"Then shouldn't you be inside watching over her? Not out here watching the camp?" Valora asked looking to Andrea keeping her head facing the field and moving her eyes to her.

Andrea looked to her, and then back to the field, "there's going to be no possible way to talk to you without you pissing me off."

"You make it to easy," Valora shrugged her shoulders making her way down the ladder, "remember, keep up the good work!"

"Fuck you," Andrea grumbled not meaning for Valora to hear it, but she did and her head popped back up over the ladder.

"Not your job, hun" she smirked to her.

Andrea smirked back at her, "yeah, can't believe I forgot that that was the Dixons job."

"Got that right there," Valora smirked winking at the shocked expression on Andreas face, "see ya later blondie."

She heard a laugh come from someone behind her, and she turned to see Dale standing there, "I'm surprised she hasn't ripped your head off yet."

"Me too," Valora sighed and looked over to the two girls rushing over to her, "see you later Dale."

Valora headed over to the well with the two girls. She held Melanie up as she pumped the water into the bucket. Once she put Melanie down she let Sophia have a turn at it. Once the bucket was full Valora picked it up knowing it would be too heavy for either of them to carry it. She laughed at the two girls twirled around like they were helicopters, but then the bucket dropped the the ground when she heard Andrea shout.

"Walker!" Andrea's shout rang through her ears and she dropped the bucket and whipped her head around to see the lone walker in the field.

"Get back to camp," Valora said quickly to the girls before she headed over to the fence, "don't stop running until you're there."

She made her way to the fence, and hopped over it with ease. Once her feet hit the ground she was running at full speed. She pulled her knife out from its holster on her left thigh. She looked over to see Rick, Shane, T-dog, and Glenn all running up to the walker. She made her way so that she was running alongside them, and they stopped in front of the walker.

Valora's heart sank and her voice choked out, "Daryl?"

* * *

Daryl was grunting with every step he took, pain racking his body. His head felt like it was about to explode, and his body felt like he was being stabbed with pins and needles all over. He groaned and grabbed at his head. He sat down on a fallen tree nearby and took deep breaths trying to calm down the headache. He heard a branch snap and his head shot up. He looked around him, and smirked at the sight. There was that damn buck he had been trying to find. He quietly pulled out his crossbow, and took aim right at the bucks heart. He put his finger on the trigger and the bolt flew hitting the buck right on target.

"Yes!" he shouted rushing over to the buck forgetting all about the pain in his body.

He quickly tied the bucks feet together and dragged it behind him. Totally forgetting about the pain in his head, and throughout his body he moved faster through the forest. It was only when he was almost there that the pain began to kick in, and it hurt like hell. He was panting again, and the buck was beginning to feel really heavy. He looked up to see that four- no, five people were now running towards him. He looked down at himself and smirked at the way he looked, like a walker.

He saw the hurt look in Valoras face as she stopped in front of him and choked out, "Daryl?"

* * *

"That's the third time you've pointed that thing at my head," Daryl panted out sending relief through Valora's body, "you gonna pull the trigger or what?" and now it's gone.

Rick slowly lowered his gun asking the question they were all thinking, "what happened to you?"

Daryl was about to speak, but the sound of a gun firing rang through their ears. Valora blinked for a second, and when she opened them Daryl was falling to the ground.

"Daryl!" Valora screamed running up to him, "No! No! No! Daryl?"

Rick was at his side and Valora was looking at him worry written all over her face, and Daryl managed to say, "I was kidding."

"Let me get him," Shane said moving Valora out of the way.

Rick and Shane put Daryl's arms over their shoulder and began to head back until T-dog asked, "what 'bout the deer?"

"Bring it," Rick said as he began to rush back with Shane.

Valora was running at their side worry etched into her features, and Glenn was running at her side, "he's wearing ears. Why's he wearing ears?"

Rick looked up to see Hershal and the rest of camp rushing up to the fence, "let's keep that to ourselves," Rick said putting the ears in his shirt.

"Oh my god," Andrea covering her mouth, "is he okay?"

"Only grazed him," Rick said handing the man over the fence to Dale and Steven.

Valora hopped over the fence and stayed by their side until they were in the house. Once they got Daryl into the bedroom Hershal had everyone wait outside letting him have his space as he fixed him up. Valora rested her back on the wall, and eventually slid down so she was sitting. She wrapped her arms around her legs, and rested her head on her knees as she stared at his door. It seemed like an eternity had gone by while he was in there.

Once Hershal opened the door Valora was to her feet in an instant, "well, is he going to be okay?" Valora asked her voice desperate.

"He'll be fine," Hershal said wiping his hands on a bloodied towel, "one of his arrows went through his side, and from the looks of the wound he pulled it out. Hit his head hard on something, and the gunshot wound Andrea gave him needed stitches along with the arrow wound."

"St-stitches?" Valora stuttered out and Hershal nodded his head and made his way down the hallway.

Valora looked to Rick and Shane who were standing there, "we'll talk to him later," Rick said nodding to his friend and they made their way down the hall.

Valora took in a deep breath before putting her hand on the doorknob. She hadn't moved for a while, and eventually she mustered up the courage to turn the knob. When she opened the door she looked to see Daryl's back facing hers. He had bandages wrapped all around his midsection, and around his head. Valora held a hand to her mouth, and blinked back the tears.

She walked over to the bed, and sat on it. She reached a hand out to him, but pulled it back not wanting to accidentally hurt him. She sighed as she brought a hand to her face as tears had escaped and she didn't want him to see them. She felt movement on the bed, and she turned her head so that he couldn't see it. She took in a deep breath and turned around ready to say something, but wasn't able to.

Daryl's lips had covered hers, and she felt a hand on her waist. She slowly moved her arms to go around his neck so that she wouldn't hurt him. She kissed him back softly making sure she wouldn't hurt him,

Once he pulled away he softly rested his forehead on hers, and he whispered, "guess we're even."

Valora's blue eyes met his and she smiled up at him, "guess we are," she pulled him into a hug and sighed, "never do that again."

She heard him chuckle and wrap his arms around her, "as long as you don't do anything like before either."

"It's a promise then," she laughed and pulled away from the hug to plant a kiss on his lips.

He frowned at her when she pulled away, and she stood up, "I gotta go finish making dinner."

Daryl grabbed her wrist and pulled it toward him causing her to lose her balance and fall back on the bed. He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, "why don't you stay here?"

"They need my help Daryl," Valora said trying not to give in, "and not in here."

"Just stay here," Daryl grumbled pulling her down so they were both laying on the bed. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She sighed giving up and snuggled up to him, and she saw him smirk. He then closed his eyes, and was out. She laughed at how tired he must've been, but then she felt the tiredness hit her as well and she fell asleep.

* * *

Valora awoke at the sound of the door opening and she sat up ignoring Daryl who was groaning next to her. She looked to see Carol standing there with a tray holding two plates and a bottle of wine. Carol looked up after she set the tray on the counter and met Valoras gaze.

"I'm sorry," Valora apologized, "you could have woken me up and I could have helped with the cooking."

"No," Carol smiled, "you must have been exhausted after everything that's happened. It's really no big deal."

"You sure?" Valroa asked feeling guilty, "I feel rude for not helping."

"It's okay," Carol smiled walking to the door, "just leave the tray in the hallway when you're done," she said closing the door behind her.

Valora smiled at the door, and then looked to the tray, "they cooked the deer that you caught," Valora said reaching over him to the tray.

"What?" Daryl said resting on an elbow looking to the tray Valora was holding, "sons a bitches, I wasn't planning on cooking it all today."

Valora laughed, "just shut up and eat it Mr. I-Wear-Ears."

Daryl glared up at her, and sighed sitting up fully now, "I think you'll have to feed me."

"Okay," Valora shrugged grabbing a fork and cutting a piece of the deer, "here comes the choo-choo train."

"Screw you," he mumbled taking the fork from here earning a laugh from Valora.

"Not now bucko," Valora smirked to him, "you're in no condition for that."

"You underestimate me then," he smirked at her before eating the deer and making a disgusted face, "this tastes like shit."

Valora laughed taking a bite, "I think it tastes fine."

"Then you've never had real deer before," Daryl grumbled taking another bite.

"Haven't," Valroa smirked, "first time eating it."

Daryl choked on his food and looked up to her, "you serious?"

"Serious as I'll ever be," Valora shrugged taking another bite of the deer.

"I'll have to cook it the right way next time I get deer," Daryl said eating more of the deer he claimed that that 'tasted like shit', "tastes ten times better than this."

"Lets call it a date then," Valora smiled up at him.

"Whatever you wanna call it's fine by me," Daryl smirked and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Hope its soon," Valora smiled eating some more.

"Will be if I can find another damn deer in that forest," Daryl grumbled, "found it on the way back from falling down the cliff."

Valora choked on her food, and coughed harshly, "fell off a cliff? When were you going to tell me about this?"

"Wasn't gonna," Daryl said looking the other way, "I knew you were gonna react like this."

"Who wouldn't?" Valora asked, " 'I fell off a cliff', 'oh boy, how was it? I bet hitting your head on that rock was fun.' Totally how someone would react."

"Look, its not as bad as it sounds," Daryl said trying to get her to calm down.

"Really?" Valora asked her anger slightly rising, "you come back battered up and bloody. Hershal said that a bolt went through your side, and that you hit your head hard on something. To top it all off Andrea shot you!"

Daryl looked to the woman who was looking at him with her eyes brimming with tears at the verge of falling. He looked from her, and to his hands that were resting in his lap. He reached a hand up to touch her face, but she moved out of the way.

"I'm sorry," Daryl said barely above a whisper not meaning for her to hear.

"Well you should be," she said crossing her arms over her chest looking away from him letting the tears silently fall.

Valora's eyes widened as she felt her head being turned, and something crash onto her lips. She closed her eyes, and kissed the man who she was angry, and worried about at the same time. She was angry at him for not telling her about him falling off a cliff, but she was also worried about him being okay.

When he pulled away he looked into her eyes with his hand on her chin keeping her eyes locked on his, "I love you," Daryl whispered out.

"I love you too," Valora said smiling up to him, and letting another tear fall.

Daryl let go of her chin and moved to kiss away the tears that fell, "only ever cry when you're happy. I hate seeing you like this."

"Promise," she smiled up at him, and he kissed her once more before pulling her into a hug.

* * *

Happy New Year! :D


	24. Five Hours

The next day Valora woke up around sunrise, and realized that she was still in the bed with Daryl. She smiled up at his sleeping face, and giggled slightly behind her hand. She thought he looked just adorable when he was sleeping, his lips slightly parted with the sound of a small snore escaping them. She moved silently out from under his arm, and slipped out the door. Once she was in the hall she tiptoed through the house trying not to wake anyone.

Once she was outside she began to walk normally. She looked over to see Steven leaving his tent, and he waved in her direction. She waved back to him, and he motioned her to walk over to him. She slowly made her way over to him with him moving to her to meet her in the middle.

"Something you need?" Valora asked stretching her arms behind her.

"Just wanted to say good morning and Beth and I are together," Steven smiled proudly down to his mom.

"What about Jimmy?" she asked looking up to the boy who was still grinning like an idiot.

"He's cool with it," he smiled bigger, "said that he liked her as more of a friend."

"Well congratulations," Valora smiled putting a hand on his arm, "you finally have a girlfriend."

"Shut up mom," Steven glared at her, and then laughed before pulling his mom into a hug.

"I love you too Steven," Valora laughed hugging her son back.

Once he pulled away he waved to someone over her shoulder. She looked back to see Rick coming out of the house. She smiled and waved to the man approaching them. As he walked up to them he looked around the camp for anyone else.

"Hey sheriff," Steven said.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can call me Rick?" he asked smiling to the boy.

"Rick," Steven nodded to him and Rick nodded to him.

"Is there something you need Rick?" Valora asked.

"Oh, yeah. Carl will be up and around today," Rick said looking back to the house with a hand on the back of his neck, "I was wondering if-"

"If I could keep an eye on him, since your wife can't?" Valora smirked to the nervous man.

"Don't tell Lori I think of her like that," Rick practically begged.

Valora laughed, "your secret's safe with me."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it," Rick nodded to the two of them before turning back to the house.

"He's a good man," Valora said, "does great at leading this group, even though he struggles to see that now."

"I agree with you," Steven smirked, "he seems a little lost right now in what to do."

"I would be too if I was making the decisions for a group of people that trust you," Valora sighed, "make one wrong choice and we're all dead."

"Wow, that's a bad way to think," Steven said looking down at his mom with a weird look.

"It's the truth though, sadly," Valora sighed kicking the ground with her foot, "I hate having to think that way, but being an adult you kind of have to."

"That's sad," Steven said, and then sadly sighed, "there goes my good mood."

"Think about rainbows and unicorns," Valora said waving her hand, "all of that good stuff. Sparkles and fairies."

"You are the randomest person ever," Steven laughed grabbing at his stomach.

"Hey," Valora shrugged and smirked to him over her shoulder, "who do you think you get it from."

"I wonder who," Steven said rolling his eyes.

"You get that from me too," Valora pointed to him, and looked back to the two little ones emerging from the truck with Jenner right behind.

Valora waved to him, and he looked up and waved to her, "I'm guessing he's still got his days and nights mixed up," Steven whispered to her.

"Yup," Valora said popping the p and walking over to Jenner who was slowly making his way out of the truck and helping the kids out, "they have to go to the bathroom?"

"Yeah," Jenner yawned.

"I'll take 'em," Valora smiled resting Melanie on her hip and holding Kaydens hand, "you can go get some more sleep."

"Thanks," Jenner said getting back into the truck, and plopping down where he slept.

Valora smiled to herself and began walking the kids up to the house. Once she was in there she set Melanie down and held both of their hands. She quietly made her way up the stairs and into the bathroom. Kayden went to the bathroom first while Valora sat Melanie on the counter and brushed out her knotted hair. Valora then helped Melanie down and helped her to sit on the toilet.

Valora turned around to see Kayden pulling himself up on the counter and he looked at himself in the mirror. He began to make silly faces to himself, and Valora smiled at him. She walked up behind him and put a hand on his head.

"You need a haircut, bud," Valora said pulling the hair as far out as it would go before letting it fall back on his head.

Valora looked through the drawer and finding a pair of hair cutting scissors in the drawer. She pulled them out of the drawer and sat Kayden so the hair she cut off would fall into the sink. She grabbed a piece of hair in between her index and middle finger and began to cut. When Melanie was done going to the bathroom she went over and helped her down, and went back to cutting Kaydens hair. When she was done she stepped back and smiled at him.

"You look so much older now," she smiled at his excitement.

"How much older?" he shouted in a whisper.

Valora put a hand to her chin and said, "as old as Steven."

"Yes!" he quietly shouted throwing his hand up in the air.

"Now it's Melanies turn for a haircut," Valora smiled to the little girl and set her on the counter.

Her blonde hair was just below her waist, and it was starting to have split ends. Valora smiled to the little girl who was getting all excited about getting her haircut.

"So, how long do you want your hair?" Valora asked and pointed to her shoulder, "this long? Or longer?"

"This long!" she smiled at Valora in the mirror pointing to just below her shoulders.

"Okay," Valora said taking her hair and holding it in one buch, "you ready?"

She nodded her head and squeezed her eyes tight and Valora cut across the bottom, "there we go," she smiled holding the hair in front of the girl. She had cut off five or six inches of her hair.

Melanie squealed taking the hair in her small hands and holding it out, "that's so much hair!"

Valora warmly smiled at her, "lets just clean it up, and make it look like a princess."

"No," Melanie said with a frown, and he eyebrows furrowed together almost like she was pouting, "I want it to be like yours."

Valora laughed, "you want my haircut?"

She nodded her head really fast and finished off with, "yep!"

Valor laughed and layered the girls hair to look like hers. Once she was done cutting her hair she smiled to the girl and turned her around. Melanie clapped her hands together and smiled.

"I look just like you, but my hairs blonde, and yours is black," she smiled turning her head back to Valora.

"We're almost like twins," Valora smiled putting her hands on the girls shoulders and smiling at her in the mirror.

"Yeah!" Melanie squealed.

"Shhh, they're still sleeping," Valora said holding a finger to her mouth and Melanie did the same.

She helped the little girl off the counter and she opened the bathroom door and headed downstairs. She looked around to see that nobody was awake yet. She turned back to see Carl standing in the doorway of the room he had been cooped up in.

"Hey, Carl. How are you feeling?" she asked smiling to the boy who stared at her.

"Better then when I first got here," Carl said then suspiciously eyed her, "why do you care anyways?"

Valora was shocked at his rude comment, but pushed it aside, "everyones been worried about you, just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well you guys didn't have to, I knew I was going to be fine," Carl said walking back into his room, and Valora laughed slightly at how rude he was acting.

"Well," Valora laughed walking out of the house with Melanie and Kayden.

Once she was out in the yard she saw that Maggie was over and talking to Glenn. She smirked to herself, and then looked around to see that Jimmy was also awake. The two of them had gotten out of the house while Valora was in the bathroom cutting the kids' hair. She smiled over to Rick who was talking to Jim and Shane by the truck and they nodded to her as she walked by.

"Hey, how 'bout you two go and see what Sophia's up to, okay?" Valora asked squatting down next to the two kids. The two of them nodded their heads, and rushed over to where Sophia was with Carol doing laundry. She smiled as she stood up and watched them run off.

"Hey, Valora," Glenn said nervously standing next to her, "can I talk to you? It's pretty serious."

"Girl troubles?" she asked and he shook his head, but then nodded.

"I guess that has a part in it," Glenn said but shook his head, "lets talk in the RV."

Valora eyed him before deciding to follow him into the RV. Once she was in there Glenn was by the door, and peeking out to see if anyone saw them walking into the RV. He closed the door and turned around taking a deep breath before talking.

"What's this about?" Valora asked.

"There's walkers in the barn," Glenn quickly said but held up a hand to keep her from shouting, "but you can't tell anybody. I'm not even supposed to know about it."

"What are you talking about?" Valora asked her eyes wide trying to keep her voice quiet.

"It's like I said, walkers are in the barn," Glenn said holding a hand to his face, then removing it quickly as he looked up to her, "oh and Lori's pregnant."

"Are you kidding me?" Valora asked her voice getting a little louder.

"We need to go into town," Glenn said, "get her the proper vitamins, the food that she needs, and a proper pillow to sleep on."

"I'll go into town with you," Valora nodded her head, "make up something like, we ran out of condoms for instance."

"Maggie knows we have eleven left," Glenn said looking up.

"Daryl and I ran out," she shrugged, "the kids need new crayons. Something like that."

Glenn nodded his head, "okay, yeah. We can do that," then he smirked up to her, "you and Daryl?"

"Shut up," she said before opening the RV door and walking out.

She slowly made her way over to where Lori was cleaning up by the campfire, and she stood there with her arms over her chest, "you're pregnant?"

Lori looked up to Valora with shock written over her face, "did Glenn tell you?"

"Glenn knows?" Valora asked raising an eyebrow, "you can tell when a woman is pregnant. Trust me."

"How did you find out?" Lori asked swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Its easy to tell, but never mind that," Valora said waving a hand, "you need the proper vitamins, and you need to eat twice as much as you used to. You can take some of my food, I don't eat much anyways."

"I can't do th-" she was stopped when Valora held a hand to her.

"I don't want to hear it," Valroa smiled to her, "if you aren't going to let Rick help you at least let me help. I've been pregnant before, and I know what it feels like not wanting anybody to know about it. You'll have to tell him sometime though, like when the bump starts to show."

She slowly nodded her head, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure," Valroa smiled, "I wouldn't want anyone to know I was," Valora stopped when Glenn started to walk up with his bucket of peaches and Jerky that was a peace offering from Maggie.

"You need to eat more," Glenn said quietly so nobody could hear.

"I'm giving her half my share," Valora smiled to him, "you like Jerky or Peaches better?"

"Whatever you won't take I'll have," Lori said shaking her head.

"Peach it is then," Valora smiled tossing it to her.

"Thank you," Lori half smiled to her.

"No problem," Valora smiled taking a bite out of the Jerky, "Glenn and I are going to make a run into town to get the vitamins you need. What kind of pillow do you think will be the best?"

Lori smiled to her, "whatever you can find will work."

"Okay," Valora smiled to her, "I'll go tell Rick, be right back."

Glenn nodded to her before she made her way over to the truck where the guys were all talking.

"Hey guys," Valora smiled leaning resting her hands on the truck, "Glenn and I are going to make a run into town."

"What for?" Rick said raising an eyebrow, "we've got everything we need."

"Daryl and I ran out of condoms," Valora said looking up to the shocked looks on the men's faces, "Glenn ran out as well, and the kids need crayons."

Rick cleared his throat,"um, well, you guys head on out then."

"Thanks," Valora smiled patting the sheriffs shoulder.

"Didn't expect that," she heard Shane say to the men.

"Okay," Valora smiled walking up to Glenn and Lori, "Rick gave us the okay."

Glenn nodded his head and he looked to Lori. She half smiled again and Glenn and I walked over to where Rick and the guys were standing.

"How do you want us to get into the town?" Valroa asked standing next to the men.

"Take the truck," Jimmy said as he grabbed the map off the hood of the truck, "still runs okay."

"Thanks Jim," she smiled to the boy, "I'll be right back I'm going to go grab my pack."

Once she grabbed her pack she hopped into the passengers side, and they were off. It was only a fifteen minute drive there, and once they got there, there was no walkers in sight. She shrugged it off and they made their way into the pharmacy.

"I'll check the prescribed medicine part," Valroa said making her way to the back, "look around for Prenatal vitamins out here."

Glenn nodded his head looking around. Valora made her way to the back and looked through each bin. So far everyone had been empty, all except for one, and that one was the Prenatal Vitamins. She smirked at the irony of the situation and grabbed every box that was in there not knowing how much to get. Once she had all of the boxes in her pack she headed back and ran into Glenn who was rushing her to go back.

"Other people, and they don't look friendly," Glenn whispered rushing her to the back.

Once they were in the back part of the store she whispered, "what about the truck?"

"Forget it," Glenn shook his head, "looks like we're walking back."

She groaned on the inside, and they walked out the back door. Once they knew they were out of that groups sighet they made their way onto the road they took to get here. Valora sighed in relief that they hadn't found them, but then she was sad that they weren't going to get there in time. And that she wasn't able to get the condoms that they had run out of.

"I got these if that's what you're groaning about," Glenn smirked tossing a pack of 24 condoms.

She smirked to him, "one thing that I was groaning about. The other thing was that now we have to walk really far."

"Yeah," Glenn groaned, "and it's really starting to get hot out here."

"No kidding," Valroa said fanning herself with her hand.

As they made their long journey of what Glenn guessed to be four hours left to go, they only came across a few walkers. While they walked in the middle of the street, they heard the sound of a motor. Glenn grabbed Valoras hand and pulled her over into some trees where they could get some cover. As they were running into the forest they heard the slamming of the car door.

"Shit," Valora mumbled quietly, "they saw us."

"Really?" Glenn asked his tone sarcastic, and he looked around for some kind of escape, "in the trees."

Valora looked to the tree next to her that looked easy enough to climb. She pulled herself up, and climbed until she was out of sight. She looked around to see Glenn making his way up a tree next to the one she was in. She held her breath when she caught sight of the three men who had come into the forest after the two of them. She looked to Glenn with wide eyes. These men were buff, like bodybuilder buff. One was holding a wrench hitting it into the palm of his other hand, the one in the middle was holding a baseball bat on his shoulder, and the last one looked a lot smaller than the two other men. He held a pistol in his hands and aimed it to the ground as his eyes scanned the area.

"We ain't gonna find 'em," the man with the wrench said.

"Shut up, we gonna find 'em if we keep lookin," the man said smirking to his companion, "they can't hide forever."

That was two hours ago. Glenn and Valora had been sitting in those damned trees for two hours now. The three men from before were nowhere in sight, but they were close enough to the road that they'd hear the slam of their car doors. Valora would occasionally look over to Glenn who was sweating from having to hold himself in place for that long. The two of them couldn't move much without making noise, or causing something to fall from the tree.

'When the hell are we gonna get back?' Valora thought as she looked over to Glenn gesturing her shoulders like she was speaking the question.

'When we know they're gone,' Glenn shrugged his shoulders to her, and he lifted a hand to his forehead to wipe the sweat off his brow.

'Come on, I bet they are gone,' Valroa said raising her eyebrows.

'No, not safe,' Glenn shook his head.

* * *

"The hell with it, I ain't staying cooped up in here," Daryl growled sitting up in the bed he had been in for most of the morning.

He stood up and opened the door and stomped over to his tent. He opened the tent and plopped down on his cot. He put his hands behind his head and looked up to the top of the tent. He sighed and reached over to his crossbow and began cleaning to bolts. While he did that he thought about where Valora was, and why she wasn't there when he woke up.

He shook it off and went back to cleaning the bolts. While he was cleaning the back of his neck began to itch. No matter how much he scratched at it, it wouldn't go away. He huffed laying back down on his cot and grabbed a bolt and twisted it in his fingers. The irritable scratching wasn't going away so he tried to occupy his mind by poking holes in the side of the tent.

Daryl looked up from what he was doing to see Andrea entering the tent, "hey," she mumbled handing him a book, "this is not that great, but..."

Daryl opened the book and flipped through the book and looked to her, "what, no pictures?"

"I'm so sorry," Andrea shook her head, "I feel like shit."

"Yeah," Daryl sighed putting the book under his cot and scratching the back of his neck, "you and me both."

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but if there's anything I can do..." Andrea trailed off looking around the tent and her eyes landed on Daryl who was looking at her.

"You were trying to protect the group," Daryl said watching looking at the bolt in his hands as he twirled it around, "we're good."

Andrea smiled to him and got up and walked out of the tent, but Daryl stopped her, "but hey, shoot me again, you best pray I'm dead."

"I'll make sure it doesn't happen again," she smirked to him pushing her weight to one foot.

"You seen Val around?" Daryl asked sitting up on his cot.

Andrea thought about it and then shook her head, "now that I think about it, no I haven't. Haven't seen Glenn around either."

Daryl stood up and walked out of his tent. He nodded to Andrea before he walked past her and over to where Rick was standing with Jimmy and Shane. As he approached he saw the men tense up, and he shrugged it off crossing his arms over his chest as he stood next to Rick.

"You guys know where Val is?" Daryl asked his eyes squinted.

"She didn't tell you?" Shane asked, and Daryl shook his head, "went on a supply run with Glenn. Said you two were out of protection."

Daryl widened his eyes slightly and made them back into a squint, "and she outright said it to you?" Daryl's mouth twitched upwards at one corner.

"Yup," Rick said looked to where his son was standing with his wife feeding the chickens, "no hesitation at all. Just said it."

"So, you and Valora?" Shane smirked to him, and Daryl glared to him and Shane laughed.

Daryl huffed and looked to Rick who was still looking to his wife and son, "so you guys have any idea when they'll be back?"

"Said they'd be back three- four hours," Rick said rubbing his chin looking to the ground in front of him, "now that I think about it, that was almost five hours ago."

"What?" Daryl said eyeing the man, "and you haven't sent anyone out for them yet?"

"Thought they'd be back pretty soon," Shane shrugged looking from Rick to Daryl, "could have run out of gas and they needed to walk the rest of the way."

"Or they could've ran into a herd," Daryl glared to him, "I'm looking for them."

Daryl turned on his heels and began walking back to the truck, but was pulled back on the shoulder, "we can't risk it Daryl. What if what you said was true? They were attacked by a herd, how would you be able to help them?"

"Fuckin distract them," Daryl glared down at the man, "get the walkers the hell away from 'em and they get out."

"You're in no condition to be going anywhere," Rick said looking down then squinting back up to meet Daryls glare.

"Then fucking come along if you're worried I won't be okay," Daryl snarled at him before getting into the drivers side of the truck.

He turned the keys in the ignition, and turned his head to see Steven hopping in the passenger's side, "I'm going too. She's my mom, and no I'm not staying."

Daryl smirked, "wasn't gonna make ya."

* * *

"You think they're gone now?" Valora mouthed to Glenn after she heard the sound of a car door slam, and a car driving off.

"No," Glenn mouthed shaking his head, "give it a minute."

Valora threw her head back groaning on the inside. They had now hit the three hour mark, and the men from before had seemed to have left them. Glenn, being the worrywart of the group, wants to take precaution and wait longer to make sure that they were gone. It's not like Valora didn't agree with him on that, she just wished she was in a more comfortable tree.

It was then that they heard a different car pulling up, but it didn't stop. Just kept on going. Valroa raised an eyebrow to him, and he slightly shrugged his shoulders. It was then that they heard the same car coming back. She tensed up when she heard the sound of a car door slamming.

She kept her eyes on the ground below the tree, and looked to see two people she hadn't expected to see. Morgan and Duane. The two of them were walking into the woods, and she had no idea why the hell they turned around to walk into the forest they were in.

"Morgan!" Valroa shouted in a whisper.

The man turned his head up and looked into the tree she was in. She moved into his line of vision, and she saw the shocked look on his face.

"What's up?" she asked beginning to climb down.

Morgan held his hands up indicating her to stop and she stopped, and she was about to ask why until she heard the voice of the man from before, "I heard a voice. Who was it?"

"Sorry sir, it was me," Duane said standing up straight gulping as he looked up to the tall man.

"You ain't gonna do it again, son," the man said and slapped the boy on top of the head, "or you're gonna get it."

This caused Valora's blood to boil. How dare that man lay even a finger on that boy's head. The boy had done nothing wrong, and she knew that. She saw Morgan reach for his son but was slapped in the face causing him to pull his hand away.

"Don't do anything to comfort him," the man glared to Morgan, "I want him to suffer."

"Yessir," Morgan said holding a hand to the place he was slapped.

"Good, now pull that hand away from your face and quit actin like a pussy," the man smirked looking down at Morgan.

"Yessir," Morgan said keeping his eyes on his feet as he let his hand drop to his side.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you," the man said standing right in front of Morgan.

Morgan hesitated before looking up to meet the mans evil gaze, "good. Now keep up the good work. I'll be back in an hour to check your progress."

Then the man turned around, and the sound of tires screeching on asphalt echoed throughout the forest. Once Valora was sure that the men were gone she climbed down the tree as fast as she could. Once her feet hit the ground she was by their sides her hand on both of their shoulders.

"What the hell was that?" she asked looking at the two of them panic etched in her features.

"Ran into these assholes when we were headed to Fort Benning," Morgan glared to the way that the man had disappeared into, "racist bastards."

"I'm so sorry," Valora said covering her mouth with her hand, "come with us. We've got shelter and guns. I'm pretty sure that Rick would be okay with the two of you joining."

Morgan nodded his head, but then his eyebrows furrowed together, "what are we going to do about them?"

"We just take another way there," Glenn said hopping out of the tree, "follow the road on the edge of the forest, keeping an eye out for them."

We all nodded our heads and then followed Glenn, "we're going to have to be really quiet too. Don't know if they left any of their men out here."

They made their way through the forest, making sure that the road was slightly in sight. So far they haven't had any problems, and no sign of anyone following them. They heard the sound of tires slowly moving on the road, but they didn't sound like the ones from before. Valroa looked out to see that it was the goddamned truck. She rushed out of the forest, and saw the truck screech to a stop.

Morgan, Glenn, and Duane emerged from the forest about to lecture her, but Glenn smiled as he saw Daryl and Steven getting out of the truck. Valora smiled to Daryl who was making his way over to her, and she watched as Steven walked up to Glenn and put a hand on his shoulder before pulling him into a brotherly hug.

"Thank god you're safe," Daryl whispered into her ear as he hugged her tight.

Valora smiled before he pulled away from the hug and she turned around, "lets get in the truck and get back. We've got a problem."

Daryl looked at her with worry in his eyes, but did a good job at keeping it hidden. Valora nodded to Morgan and Duane to follow her to the back of the truck, and they got in. Once they were all sitting down and ready to go Daryl turned the keys in the ignition, and they were headed back to the farm.

"So what the hell happened?" Steven asked over his shoulder, "where's the truck you guys used?"

"When we were in the pharmacy Glenn said that he heard people coming inside, so we left through the back door," Valroa said looking to the faces watching her in the back of the truck, "made our way to the road, and then we were being followed by some huge ass men! Like they were as buff as those bodybuilders! Glenn and I had climbed into trees, and stayed there for at least three hours before the men had sent Morgan and Duane into the forest. Told them that they'd be back in an hour, and that was fifteen minutes ago I'd guess."

"What the hell did those men want?" Steven asked turning around so his body was facing the back.

"They knew Valora was a girl from the distance they saw her," Morgan said pulling his son closer to him, "the group of people that those men were, aren't very kind to women and black people."

"So you tellin me that they were plannin on doin that stuff to Val?" Daryl asked his voice dripping with venom.

"Suppose so," Morgan said hugging his son, "they done it to the rest of the women they picked up. Youngest one was only fourteen. Age don't matter to those men."

"Sick fucks," Daryl growled his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

"You want me to drive?" Steven asked, "you just got out of bed today. Even though you aren't supposed to be."

"I'm fine," Daryl said through clenched teeth, "just a little pissed."


	25. Walkers In The Barn

Once the group got back to camp Rick was absolutely thrilled to see Morgan and Duane accompanying them. He wasn't so thrilled to hear about the group of people they had been with though. He was afraid that their group of people would somehow find their 'base', and do some of the things to the women in their camp. That sent Daryl's anger skyrocketing. Daryl wanted nothing but to get out of there, then and now.

"Then we need to get moving," Daryl said slamming his hand angrily on the hood of the truck.

"But we can't do that," Rick said holding a hand out with the other on his hip as he looked to the worried faces of his group, "we can't afford to do that. Not yet at least."

"Then what do you suggest we do when they come here," Glenn spoke up after gulping his fear to speak out, "what are we going to do when they come here. Like what Valora said, those men were like bodybuilders. We wouldn't stand a chance against them."

"Rick," Dale said putting a hand on his shoulder, "we can't risk staying here."

Rick looked around at all of the faces once more before taking in a shaky breath and nodding his head, "once Carl is more fit for travel we'll head out."

Everyone nodded in agreement with that statement, and began to head out to their tents. Valora on the other hand walked over to Lori who was eagerly waiting for her over on the other side of her tent for her. Once Valora saw that no one else was paying any attention to her she walked to where Lori was.

"I got the vitamins," Valroa said handing her the bottle, "tell me when you need another box. Take one a day with your breakfast."

"Thank you so much," Lori nodded her head.

"Wasn't able to get you your pillow though, sorry 'bout that," Valora said rubbing the back of her neck.

"Hey, as long as you made it back okay with what was really needed, I'm glad," Lori smiled to her before pulling the woman into a hug.

"I've got enough in my pack," Valroa said after their hug, "should last the whole pregnancy."

"Thanks again," Lori nodded her head.

"If you need anything just tell me or Glenn," Valora said smiling at her putting a hand on her shoulder, "we're here for you until Rick finds out."

She nodded her head, and headed into her tent. Valora sadly smiled to the tent before making her way over to where she could see Steven arguing with Rick about something. Valora sadly smiled over at her son because she knew what he was arguing about. Then her eyes went across the camp, and they landed on Daryl who was talking with T-dog and Dale. She smiled to him before walking over to the three men.

"Hey," Valroa sat down next to Daryl and he pulled her close, "want one?" she asked pulling a pack out of her backpack.

"Sure could use one," T-dog sighed holding his hand out to grab the lighter and pack from her.

"We all could really use one," dale sighed taking his hat off and rubbing back what little hair he had on the top of his head.

Daryl chuckled, "you smoke?"

"Did all the time," Dale smirked to himself, "till my wife said, quote 'that stuff makes you smell like a dirty whore.'"

That earned a laugh from the group. T-dog passed the pack and lighter to Dale and he nodded to him. Once Dale had his lit and was already breathing it in, Daryl was taking the pack. Valora sighed leaning her head on his chest, and listening to his breathing. It was a noise that had become soothing to her. Listening to it had put her to sleep at night.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt Daryl tap the pack on her leg, and she grabbed the pack taking a smoke out for herself. She quickly pulled one out and lit it. She sighed as she breathed out the smoke. Leaning her head back looking up to the trees above her.

"Been a long day," Valora sighed, "staying up in a tree for three hours really isn't what I was planning on."

"Oh, I wonder what you could have been planning," T-dog smirked pulling the cigarette from his lip letting a laugh escape.

This got Dale to laugh, and comment on it as well, "he's an injured man Valora. You could wait a day or two."

"Shut up," Valora said moving her head so that they couldn't see the blush creeping to her face, "that's not what I meant."

"What? You're all shy now?" T-dog laughed, "you weren't shy when you outright said that you were out before. Left Rick scarred for the rest of the day."

"That explains why he was so out of it when we came back," Valora laughed her blush going away.

"Mind if I join you guys?" they all looked up to see Morgan standing there with his face full of stress.

"Sit down," Valroa smiled patting the log next to her, and she held the pack out, "want one?"

"Yes please," Mogan said taking the pack from her and quickly lighting one and taking a drag of it, "man its been so stressful the past week."

"Is that when you ran into them?" Valora asked looking to him.

"Yeah," Morgan shook his head, "they are one sick group of men."

"I'd kill the fuckers," Daryl mumbled looking angrily to his feet.

"I just want to get as far away from that group of people as possible," Dale said shaking his head, "bad group."

Everyone shared a nod, "I wouldn't be able to kill a living person," Valora shook her head looking to the cigarette slowly burning in between her two fingers, "no matter how bad of a person they were."

"Even if they were hurting your boy?" T-dog asked and Valora looked up to him with her eyes wide.

Valora gulped thinking about it, "maybe, yeah, I would."

"I would do the same," Morgan said his voice shaky, "but I couldn't do a damn thing about those men. Those rotten men, hurting my boy like that."

Morgan had tears in his eyes as he looked to the ground in front of him. Valora put a hand on his leg, and he took in a deep breath closing his eyes and slowly looked up to everyone. The silence between the five of them wasn't awkward, it was just silence. A moment of silence for those who have suffered, but then again, nobody in this world couldn't have made it this far without suffering.

Then a car pulled up. Valroa looked over to see Shane stepping out of the drivers seat, and Andrea out of the other one. She raised an eyebrow at the odd combination of stupid, and insane. she shrugged it off, but then looked to see Dale stepping on his cigarette as he made his way over to where Shane was heading to his tent. She watched as the two of them talked, but it looked more like they were threatening each other. When Shane brought his face closer to Dale her hand slowly made its way to her knife, but backed off when Shane angrily stomped away.

Dale came back and sat down in his chair, "where'd they go?" Valora raised an eyebrow.

"Advanced shooting class," T-dog said, and shrugged his shoulders, "guess they got a little held up."

"I'll kick his ass if he messes with Andrea," Dale said crossing his arms over his chest his eyes still on Shane who was angrily stomping around the camp, "I know what kind of man he is. That Otis man he went with didn't risk his life for Carl. Something else happened."

"He killed the man," Daryl plainly said, "came back with a dead mans gun. Said he was covering him didn't he? Then how'd he come back with his gun?"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, "sick fucker," T-dog mumbled under his breath.

"So did Rick find his wife and kid?" Morgan asked looking over to Valora.

"Yup," Valora smiled looking over to Rick who was hugging Lori, "guess the news is out."

"What news?" Daryl asked raising an eyebrow down at her.

"Lori's pregnant," Valora smiled up at him, "that's why we went to the pharmacy today."

"So you guys, didn't run out?" T-dog asked in a smirk.

"No, we did," Valroa said shrugging her shoulders, "might as well say the truth in case someone doesn't keep his mouth shut."

The men all laughed and Daryl tightened his grip on her shoulder, "wonder if its gonna be a boy or girl," Valroa smiled, "always wanted a little girl after Steven."

"Why didn't you have another kid?" Morgan asked leaning forward so his elbows were on his knees.

"Never met the right guy," she shrugged, "now I did. Be a pretty girl if I had one now."

All of the men laughed, and Daryl let out a laugh, "damn straight."

That got Valora to laugh and she looked up to see him smirking down at her, and winked. She laughed more and elbowed his side playfully. After their little laughing fit.

"Wish I could get Jacqui back in action," T-dog sighed leaning back in his lawnchair.

"I got a tip for you T-dog," Valroa said sitting up and walking over to him so she was sitting on the arm of the chair, and she motioned him to move closer so she could whisper to him, "just hold her close and tell her you love her," she then sat back, "works every time."

T-dog nodded his head and she walked back over next to Daryl, "how come the rest of us couldn't hear?" Dale asked.

"It's a secret," Valroa said holding a finger to her lips to T-dog, "girls are only supposed to know, but T-dog is an exception. He's going through a crisis, and I just told him one of the BIGGEST girl turn on."

"How come I can't know?" Daryl asked.

"You're gonna have to find out," Valora smiled up to him, and he gave her a small glare.

T-dog barked a laugh, "can't picture Daryl doing that."

"Now I want to know what it is," Dale said shaking his head.

"Mind if I tell him?" T-dog asked pointing to Dale next to him.

Valora shook his her head, and T-dog leaned over and Dale smirked, "Irma loved that."

"Let me hear," Morgan said and Valora nodded her head.

"Wife told me she liked it when I did that," Morgan smirked sitting back.

"Screw you all," Daryl breathed out so only Valroa could hear, and she smirked to herself.

Valora smirked to herself and leaned into Daryl a bit more. He held onto her tighter, and that made her smile more. She looked around to the men around her cracking jokes about the past, and such. It felt nice to her to feel safe, especially in a world like this. The dead coming back to life is something that you'd think you'd only see in the movies. Pretty crazy.

"Well," T-dog said standing up and scratching his bad arm, "I'm off."

"See ya T-dog," Dale nodded to him and he headed off, and he stood up, "probably should go back to keeping watch."

"By Dale," Valora smiled to him and he nodded to her before leaving.

She watched as Morgan sat there watching Dale as he left, and she put a hand on his shoulder, "here, want me to help you get setup here at camp?"

Morgan looked up to her, and slowly nodded his head, "I would really appreciate it."

Valora smiled to him and looked back to Daryl, "I'll be with you in a minute Daryl."

He looked to her and nodded his head before getting up and walking over to his tent. She smiled as she watched his back disappear into his tent. Valora stood up from her spot on the log, and stretched.

"Man, feels like I haven't moved in ages," she sighed popping her neck.

Morgan smiled to her, "I'm really glad that it was you that we ran into. If not, then I don't think Duane and I would have lived much longer."

"Maybe its gods fate joining us together," Valora said looking up to him, then scoffing and shaking her head, "yeah right. If it was god, he wouldn't have done it in such a twisted way."

"Amen," Morgan said.

She smiled to him, and nodded her head, "I think the RV might have an extra tent for the two of you to sleep in. Lets go check."

Valora had found Morgan a tent for him and his son to sleep in, and some blankets for them to use. She made her way over to where Steven was sitting with Duane showing him how he disassembles his gun to clean it. She smiled at how interested Duane was in the gun and she put a hand on his shoulder.

"Your daddy ever teach you how to use a gun?" Valora asked as she sat down next to the two of them.

Duane nodded his head, "yeah, but those men took our guns away from us."

Valora sadly nodded her head, and then remembered the extra gun she had in her pack. She pulled her backpack from her back and unzipped the front pocket. She pulled out a pistol and handed it to the boy.

"You remember the first rule right?" Valora asked looking into his eyes and he nodded his head.

"Yes ma'am," he said, "I won't let you down."

"That's a good boy," she smiled putting a hand on his shoulder, "well I'll see you guys in the morning."

"Bye mom," Steven said giving his mom a side hug before she took off to Daryls tent.

Once she was inside the tent she sat down on the side of the cot Daryl was laying on. She sighed, and felt arms wrap around her waist. She rested her arms on top of his and leaned into his chest as he planted butterfly kisses on her neck.

"I was scared," Valora said wrapping her fingers in his hands, "I was scared that I wasn't going to come back."

"It's okay," Daryl whispered resting his chin in the nook of her neck, "you came back. Nothin to be scared of, I'll take care o' ya."

She took in a deep breath and let a shaky one escape, "I-I was afraid that I wasn't going to come back. Wasn't going to get to see Steven, or Melanie and Kayden. Get to argue with Andrea and tell her how stupid most of her choices are, and most of all, I wouldn't get to see you."

Daryl tightened his grip around her, and lifted a hand up and caressed her cheek, "don't think like that," he whispered leaning his head on hers, "I'll keep you safe."

"I love you," she said turning her head to meet his gaze.

He gently grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes, "I love you too," he said and with his lips barely away from hers, "so damn much it scares me."

He pressed his lips softly onto hers, and that drove her mind berserk. Her heart was racing, and she had butterflies in her stomach. She felt her cheeks heating up. When he pulled away he looked into her eyes as he gently rested his forehead on hers.

"That's what I told T-dog," she slightly smirked.

He raised an eyebrow and she went on, "hold her close and tell her you love her," she swallowed the nervousness back, "you did exactly that."

He smirked down at her, and pulled her in for another kiss. Her heart went crazy again, and she grabbed onto his shirt to keep herself from falling back. He leaned towards her and her back was now fully on the cot. He put his hands up under her shirt sending shivers down her spine. She gasped when he reached her bra, and he took that chance to explore her mouth. She moaned into the kiss and he slowly began to take her shirt off.

He was driving her crazy with how slow he was taking things, and she moaned a little louder. He groaned as she bucked her hips into his, and she smirked to herself. He pulled away from the kiss as he pulled her shirt over her head, and discarded it throwing it somewhere in the tent. She smiled up at him and sat up slightly as he slowly undid her bra. Once it was off he tossed it to the side, and began trailing kisses from her neck down to her stomach. She moaned as he played with her nipples, and he moved back to her and kissed her softly on the lips silencing her moans.

He slowly unbuttoned her jeans, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He slowly pulled her pants off as she tossed her shoes to the side. Once her pants were off, she began to lift his shirt over his head. Once his shirt was off she went to unbutton his pants, but he stopped her. She raised an eyebrow to him, and he pushed her back to the cot. She gasped as he stuck his hand into her panties and rubbed her clit. She squeezed his shoulder, and he began to enter one finger. She bit her bottom lip trying to hold her moans back, but she was failing.

As he pumped in and out of her, he began to add digits, and it was driving her completely insane with pleasure. She dug her nails into his shoulder as he added another, and she could feel herself getting closer. As he sped up, she felt a rush of pleasure go throughout her body as she came.

He pulled his fingers out and licked them smirking down to her and he leaned in next to her ear, "you taste good."

"That's embarrassing," she said moving her head to the side, and she felt his breath on her neck as he laughed.

Then she sat up slightly and he hands reached to his pants. This time he didn't stop her, and she unbuttoned his pants and they were thrown lazily to the side. She smirked to him, and he smirked back at her. She reached for her pack that was on the ground next to the cot and she grabbed the box of condoms and tossed them to him. Once he had it on he positioned himself at her entrance, and started out slowly. Once he got used to her, and she was used to him he began to increase speed. She was starting to moan louder and louder the closer she was, and Daryl gently kissed her on the lips.

She was getting closer, and so was Daryl. As they both came, they moaned each others names. Valora had her hands on his back, and her nails had left a few scratches on his back. She threw her head back, and Daryl groaned trying to hold himself up to not collapse onto her. She moved over and he fell down next to her wrapping an arm around her. He grabbed the closest blanket and wrapped it around the both of them.

"I love you," Valora sighed snuggling closer to his chest.

Daryl sighed holding her tighter, "I love you too," he said in a whisper as the two of them drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Morning everyone," Valroa yawned as she and Daryl approached the camp sitting around the fire.

Carol was quietly cooking eggs that the Greene's had been so nice to give. Glenn was sitting on a stump looking to Maggie who was standing on the porch looking out to everyone. Valora yawned as she sat in between Daryls legs as they sat in a lawnchair. She opened her eyes and looked around to all of the tired looks everyone had. Everyone except for Glenn, and Valora knew exactly what was on his mind. She watched as Glenn slowly got up and stood in a space where no one was sitting.

He rubbed his chin and nervously started, "um, guys...so... the barns full of walkers."

Valora looked around to see everyone look up to the asian man who was awkwardly standing there not liking the looks he was getting.

"And... Lori's pregnant," he said half-smiling to the woman who was nodding to him.

"The hell is this about the barn being full of walkers?" Daryl asked sitting up straighter.

"It's like I said," Glenn shrugged.

Valora sighed and decided not to let Glenn be on the spot, "I also knew about it."

"What the hell?" she heard Steven shout, "and you didn't bother to tell anyone?"

"I'm sure they have a good rea-," she started but was interrupted.

"There is no good reason to keep walkers locked up," Rick sternly said, "they are dangerous."

"What if Lori or Carl was bit?" Valora said, "would you be able to shoot them? The people in that barn are people that they knew, people that they have loved and cared for."

Rick looked from her to the food on his plate, and shook his head, "I wouldn't be able to do it."

"Couldn't shoot my wife," Morgan sadly said holding tightly to his son's shoulder, "even after you guys left. Couldn't do it."

"We'll check it out," Rick decided, "if it becomes a threat we'll handle it, but I'm sure he has a reason for doing so."

"So you're just going to let those walkers be?" Shane asked his anger showing, "what if the barn opens? What if things end up like back at camp? Where people died."

"That won't happen," Glenn quickly said, "its secure."

"How can we be so sure of that?" Shane asked licking his bottom lip.

"We'll go check it out," Valora said nodding her head to Rick who was looking from her to everyone else in the group.

After breakfast everyone made their way to the barn. Jenner stayed back with his kids not wanting them to get scared, or to be put in danger. Once they arrived, Daryl held tightly onto Valora and watched as Shane slowly approached the barn. You could hear the moans and groans coming from inside the barn, and just hearing that sent a cool shiver up Valoras spine.

Shane moved away when a walker came up to the crack in the barn he was looking in and glared to Rick, "you cannot tell me that you're alright with this."

"No I'm not," Rick said eyeing the barn, "but we're guests here. This isn't our land."

"Oh God! This is our lives," Shane shouted over his shoulder.

"Lower your voices," Glenn warned him.

"We can't just sweep this under our rug," Andrea said her tone worried.

T-dog was holding Jacqui close to him, "it ain't right. Not remotely."

"Okay, we've either got to go in there, we've got to make things right or we've got to go. Now, we have been talking Fort Benning for a long time," Shane said looking at Rick with seriousness in his face.

"We can't go," Rick said holding out a hand to stop Shane from shouting, but it only made it worse.

"Why, Rick? Why?" he angrily asked getting a little too close to his friend.

"Lori is pregnant," Rick said his voice stern, "we have kids Shane. Kids."

"Kids that aren't ready yet to see this kind of world," Valora spoke out stepping away from Daryl.

"The hell with it," Shane said throwing a hand in the air, "these kids are gonna see it sooner or later."

"Just shut the hell up Shane," Valora said holding a hand out to him, "you need to calm down, or something bad is going to happen."

Shane took in deep breaths inhaling and exhaling through his nose, and he looked to Rick, "then what do we do? Just leave them here, and pretend that they aren't in there?"

Rick looked from the barn, and back to his friend, "I'll have to talk with Hershal. Let me figure it out."

"What are you gonna figure out!?" Shane shouted advancing towards his friend but Lori stepped up.

"If we're gonna stay, if we're gonna clear this barn, I have to talk him into it," Rick said his hands pointing to the barn.

Dale walked up, "Hershal sees those things in there as people- sick people- his wife, his stepson."

"You knew?" Rick asked.

"Yesterday, I talked to Hershal," Dale nodded his head.

"And you waited the night?" Shane asked his anger rising again.

"I thought we could survive another night," Dale said moving his arms out.

"This isn't all on Dale," Valroa said stepping up next to him, "I knew about it too, and I thought that if we kept this quiet, then nothing like this would happen."

"I wanted to say something this morning but Glenn wanted to be the one to say it," Dale said pointing to the man.

"The man is crazy Rick," Shane said pointing to the barn, "if Hershal thinks those things are alive or no."

After Shane said that the doors on the barn began to move back and forth. The chains rattling loudly. Daryl was at Valoras side the second it moved. The moans and groans from the walkers were getting louder, and it was beginning to scare Valora.

"I'll talk to Hershal," Rick said after the walkers got quiet knowing they wouldn't be able to reach their food, "that's my final decision. No exceptions, Shane."

Then Rick headed off to the house. Everyone shared shocked glances with each other, and Valora looked up to Daryl who was eyeing the barndoor. She sadly smiled and tugged on his arm, and they headed back to camp where Jenner was teaching the kids. She sighed as she sat down next to Melanie who was working on writing the numbers out in letters. She was doing really good for her age, and she was all the way up to number twenty-three. That number will be Valora's new lucky number. Lucky number twenty-three.


	26. Friends & Family

Thank you Sissymac and FanFicGirl10 for the reviews! I won't be posting chapters as much as I was because now I'm back in school. Over the weekend I'll try and get as many chapters in as I can! Hope you keep reading, and on with the story! :D

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Dale silently stood there as he looked out to the barn. Shane was pacing around the barn with a hand to his mouth. Dale could see the anger in Shane going out of control. He was surprised that the man hadn't gone and taken them out already. He looked back to camp to see everyone on edge about this, and that Valora was trying to hide it when she was around the kids. He sadly smiled in her direction and went to keep watch on top of the RV.

"Hey," Glenn said to him over his shoulder.

"Hey," Dale sighed walking up to stand next to him.

"Any chance you got an extra hat?" Glenn asked looking to him with his eyes slightly squinted from the sun.

Dale thought about it for a second then shook his head taking his hat off and handing it to him, "nope."

"Thanks," Glenn smiled to him placing the hat on his head.

"What happened?" Dale asked walking over to the lawn chair to sit down.

"Maggie," Glenn sighed plopping down on top of the RV next to the lawnchair, "smashed an egg on my head in my hat."

"Oh," Dale said scrunching his face up, "why'd she do that?"

"I told you all about the barn," Glenn sighed, "if she had told me sooner to not go to the barn, I would have never known, and we'd all be fine."

"I'm sorry son," Dale said patting him on the shoulder, "all relationships that are going to last have to go through hard times. Now is just one of them."

"You think so?" Glenn said looking up to him.

"Yeah," Dale sighed leaning back in the chair, "just one of those things about women. They overreact about things, but they get over it sooner or later."

"Women are confusing," Glenn said grabbing his race in his hands and rubbing his eyes.

Dale chuckled, "yes they are, but what would we do without them?"

"I don't want to picture that," Glenn said grimacing.

That got Dale to laugh, and he sighed looking out to the field. He watched as Andrea entered the RV with a stern look on her face. Dale raised and eyebrow before getting up to go check on her. He climbed down the ladder and walked over to the door. She slowly made his way into the RV when he heard the sound of metal clanking against metal.

He looked to see Andrea checking her gun, and she only spared a glance at him, "what's this about?"

"We're going to go to the town," Andrea said loading her gun, "Rick, Shane and I are going."

"I thought Rick was going to talk to Hershal," Dale said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we're going to go afterwards," she said sticking the gun in the back of her jeans, "I was gonna go keep watch on the barn with Shane for now."

"Does Rick need you to do this?" Dale asked.

"Why wouldn't he?" Andrea said swinging her bag over her shoulder.

Dale looked to the guns on the table and then back to her, "you only getting yours?" she gave him a look and he held his hands out, "I don't know what's going with you and him."

"Him?" Andrea asked shifting her weight to one leg as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shane," Dale nodded his head, "it's not my that matters to me is that you- you may not really know him."

"We don't need to do this," Andrea said shaking her head, "you and I are finally-"

"It's important," Dale said his voice stern.

"I get it, you don't like him," Andrea said getting slightly annoyed at him.

"It isn't that," Dale said shaking his head.

"Then what is it?" Andrea asked crossing her arms over her chest again like a spoiled child not liking their parents lecture.

"Is that how you want to be?" Dale asked disappointed in her, "like him?"

Andrea looked around then shrugged her shoulders, "he's not a victim."

Dale looked away from her and shook his head, "you don't know him."

"Dale, I need you to stop," Andrea said looking down, "you spend so much time, watching me, looking out for me."

"And you beat me up anytime I show my concern," Dale said looking up to her with hurt in his eyes, "go ahead. I'm done."

Andrea shook her head, and slowly made her way past him and out of the RV. Dale stood there his hand on the drivers seat to hold himself up. He was done with her, she had snapped some time, and he was done dealing with it now. He still cared for her, but he was done. He wasn't going to convince her that Shane was a bad man unless he did something right in front of her.

"You okay?" Glenns slightly concerned voice rang through Dale's thoughts.

"Yeah," Dale said looking to the guns on the table, "you mind running and getting me some water? I just- I need a moment."

"You'll keep watch?" Glenn asked, but the words went in and out of Dales mind as he walked over to the guns and started zipping up the bag.

"Dale?" Glenn asked getting his attention.

"Yeah," Dale said, "I'll keep watch."

He then heard the sound of his footsteps hitting the ladder, and hit the ground. Once he knew that he was far enough away he swung the bag of guns over his shoulder and headed out. He was on the dirt path to the forest when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He looked back to see Valora jogging up to him.

"Hey," she breathed out as she stopped next to him, "where you heading?"

"Just going for a walk," Dale sighed looking to the forest.

"Wanna talk about it on the way to wherever you're headed with all of our guns," Valora sadly smiled putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," Dale sighed knowing he wasn't going to get her to let him be, "it has to do with Shane."

"Figures," she shook her head, "he's a bad man, and Andrea is falling for him, and it's starting to worry you."

"Bingo," Dale sighed looking around at the trees, "he's not- what's the word- sane anymore. He snapped when Rick came back."

"I figured that," Valora sadly smiled to him, "I saw Shane looking at Lori in shock, and I'm pretty sure that they had a thing when they thought he was dead."

"The man thinks he's in love with the woman," Dale said holding a hand out, "he's insane. He killed a man, and he just goes on."

"The day that he's going to snap," Valora sighed looking up at the trees, "I'd say he's more unsafe than those walkers in the barn."

"Reason why I'm hiding the guns out here," Dale said adjusting the guns on his shoulder, "Shane with a gun when he snaps isn't really something I want to witness."

"That would be bad," Valora said shivering at the thought, "he'd probably kill all of us except for Carl and Lori."

"Another reason to hide them out here," Dale said holding his hand out.

"I agree with you about not giving Shane a gun," Valora said stopping, "but I don't think that we should hide them so far away from the camp. What if we get attacked? Or those walkers get out of the barn somehow?"

Dale stopped next to her, "I'm not going to go back, I have my mind set."

"I just hope that this is the right decision," Valora said shaking her head and kept walking, "as long as you tell Rick where they are when he asks, I will support your decision."

Dale pursed his lips making a thin line and he nodded his head slowly walking up to her meet her pace, "thanks."

"I'm not letting you take my gun though," Valora smiled back at him, "she ain't leaving my side."

"I trust you to not let Shane have your gun if he tries to take it away," Dale said nodding his head and she smiled nodding to him,

"Got that right," she smiled.

The two of them walked to where Dale wanted to hid them in silence. It wasn't an awkward one, just silence. The sound of the forest, and animals around them. No sign of walkers from where they were. That was a good thing. Once they reached the place Dale pulled a trash bag out of his pocket and put the guns in them.

They heard the snapping of a branch, and Valora pulled out her gun pointing it to Shane who looked pissed, "Shane, back off."

"Or what?" he laughed rubbing his nose, "you gonna shoot me?"

"If I have to I will," Valora gulped as he took a slow step forward.

He took another one and Valora pulled back on the hammer, "I'm warning you," Valora said trying to hide her fear, "I will shoot, even if it attracts every walkers for miles."

He smirked walking the rest of the way up to the gun. His chest now touching the gun, and he laughed as he pulled the gun away and sliding it back into its holster. She frowned as she stood her ground in front of Dale.

"You're lucky I'm in a fucking good mood," she glared up at him.

He laughed, "hand me those guns and we can pretend like nothing happened here."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Valora said standing tall, but not making much a difference with her being six inches shorter than the man.

"Why's that?" he asked looking around then back to her.

"We can no longer trust a man like you with a gun," Valora said keeping her glare on him, not breaking the eye contact.

"A man like me?" he laughed.

"Yes," she said her glare hardening, "a man who killed someone who was still living. I think his name was Otis."

"You really want to argue with me about that?" Shane said, "you're just a girl, I could take you out in a second."

"What? You'll take me out so that you can have these guns and go back to camp with another story to tell?" she asked walking closer to him, "Daryl, Steven, Jenner, Rick, T-dog, Glenn, Lori, Carol, Jacqui, Melanie, Kayden, Sophia, and Carl, you'd really want them to know that you were the one to kill me? Daryl wouldn't let that slide so easily, and I'm pretty sure your death wouldn't be as pleasant as the one you'd give me."

Shane glared daggers to her, "just give me the bag," he said through clenched teeth.

Valora spun in her heels and took the bag from Dales grasp and swung them over her shoulder, "I will be the one walking with them. If you as much as look at this fucking bag, I will not hesitate to shoot you next time."

He glared at her once more before taking a deep breath as he punched the tree next to him. He began stomping off back to the camp. Once he was out of earshot Valora let out the breath that she had been holding the whole time he was walking off. Dale put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"You okay?" Dale asked.

"That was fucking scary," she sighed standing up straight, "I thought he was really gonna kill me."

"He would have if it weren't for that threat," he said, "about Daryl giving him a more unpleasant death. I know Daryl well enough that he might just shoot him in the knees and watch as he gets eaten alive by walkers."

Valora chuckled, "yeah, he would do something like that."

Then the two of them straightened up and headed back to camp slowly. While on their walk back they caught sight of Daryl who was stomping in their direction. Valroa gulped hard and smiled nervously laughing as she got closer to Dale. She was now trying to hide behind the old man as she saw Daryl getting closer. Now he was up in front of the two of them, and he had his arms crossed over his chest as he glared through Dale to Valora who was cowering behind Dale.

"Valora," Daryl said his tone harsh, "give Dale the guns, I need to talk to you."

"H-hey there," Valora nervously laughed standing up straight, "h-how are you?"

"Valora," he said through gritted teeth.

"See you later Dale," she smiled at him handing him the guns, and he sadly smiled to her.

Once she turned around she was grabbed tightly around the wrist, and practically dragged back to camp. She winced at the pain in her wrist, and knew that there was going to be a bruise there later. At the moment she was more focused on the man's anger, and why he had been so angry. He led her to his tent and pulled her inside and pushed her to the cot as he zipped the tent closed. He turned around and squatted down in front of her sitting on the cot.

"Now can you tell me why," Daryl said taking in a deep breath and looking back up to her, "you were in the forest with Dale?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out, and Daryl continued talking, "and why didn't you tell me or at least Steven where you were going? You freaked me out, I thought that Shane had done something to you when he came back pissed grumbling something about you. I thought he did something to you and Dale out there."

"B-but he didn't do anything," Valroa said gulping back her nervousness, "he did threaten to... to..."

"To what?" Daryl's anger rising more if possible.

"To... to kill me and Dale," she quickly and quietly said.

"What?" Daryl asked not hearing her, "you gotta fucking speak up."

She took in a deep breath and looked into those blue eyes full of anger, confusion, and fear, "to kill Dale and I."

Then Daryl snapped, he was up on his feet stanind up straight. She stood up next to him and he ripped the front of the tent open. She tried to stop him, but he just shook her off. She followed him not wanting anything to happen to him, and not wanting anything else to happen to anyone.

"Daryl listen, I threatened to kill him first," Valroa said having to jog next to him as he stomped over to where Shane was in front of the barn, "I-I'm the one who started it. It's my fault he did that, just leave it alone."

Daryl just pushed past her and once they were only feet away from them he shouted, "hey fucker!" Shane whipped his head around and Daryl stomped up to him his anger obviously showing, and he swung his arm hitting Shane square in the face.

"Daryl!" Valora shouted about to run up to the two of them.

"Don't you take a step closer Valora," Daryl shouted to her, "I'm going to beat this fucker till he begs for his life," Daryl said shoving Shane back to the ground hitting him in the face once more.

"Someone! Help!" Valroa shouted and everyone in camp looked their way, and were heading toward them.

Valora looked back to see Shane who had Daryl in a headlock now, and he was choking him, "Shane! Stop! You're killing him!" she shouted running up to them trying to pry him off of Daryl. She was swatted away when Shane smacked her in the face. She grabbed the cheek he had hit and looked to her hand to see blood. She felt the stinging pain hitting her as she opened her mouth and she squeezed it shut.

She looked up to see T-dog prying Shane off of Daryl, and Steven helping Daryl up. Daryl immediately went to go after Shane again. Valora looked to see Jacqui helping her up, and she rushed over in front of Daryl. She put her hands on his chest and looked up to him. His eyes were full of anger and he was paying no attention to her.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Daryl shouted to him trying to get out of Steven's grasp.

"Then do it!" Shane shouted jerking one way to try and get his arms out of T-dogs grip, "if you aren't a pussy then do it!"

"So help me-" Daryl started but was stopped.

"Daryl!" Valroa shouted smacking his chest, and he looked down at her to see fear written all over her face, "stop it!"

His eyes went from her fear stricken ones to the cut on her face that was starting to bruise around it. All anger left his body, and now his only concern was Valora. His struggle against Steven stopped, and Steven slowly let go of him. His hand went to her cheek, and he reached into his pocket for the bandana he carried around with him. He pressed it onto her cheek, and she cringed as he put it there.

"C'mon," Daryl said putting an arm around her shoulder, "let's go get you fixed up."

Valora still had fear in her eyes as she looked around to the shocked looks of all of the campers. Everyone had shock all over their faces as they watched the two of them walking away. She sadly smiled to all of them, and waved as their attention turned to Shane who was now panting. Then everyones attention when to RIck, Rick who was walking back onto the farm with a walker.

"Hey!" Shane shouted and began to run after him, and everyone followed, including Valroa and Dale, "what the hell is this?'

"Shane just back off," Rick said trying to keep the walker going crazy over them calm.

"What's with all of the guns?" Hershal asked eyeing the guns that Dale was still holding.

"Are you kidding me?" Shane shouted circling them, "Dale give me a gun," Shane shouted walking up to him and forcefully taking a gun when he wouldn't oblige, "you see? You see what they're holding onto?" Shane shouted as he pointed the gun to the walkers they were holding onto.

"I see who I'm holding onto," Hershal said holding tighter onto the pole as he kept an eye on Shane.

"No, man, you don't," Shane said standing in front of him.

"Shane, just let us do this and then we can talk," Rick glared to his friend.

"What do you want to talk about, RIck?" Shane shouted walking in front of the walker he was managing, "these things ain't sick, they ain't people. They're dead," Shane said and Valora looked to Daryl who pulled a gun out of Dale's bag and aimed it to the two walkers, "ain't gonna feel nothing for them 'cause all they do is kill. These things right here, they're the things that took down Amy, and killed Jim! They killed Otis, and they're gonna kill all of us."

"Shane, shut up!" Rick shouted to his friend.

"Hey, Hershal man, let me ask you something," Shane said stomping farther in front of them, "could a living breathing person walk away from this?" Shane asked as he shot the walker he was managing right through the stomach three times.

"No!" Rick shouted, and the walker Hershal was handling stood up straight like nothing happened, "stop it!"

"Three rounds to the stomach," Shane said looking at Hershal like he was an idiot, "could someone who was alive. Could they just take that? Why's he still coming?" then Shane shot it two more times, "that's its heart, its lungs. Why's it still coming!?" then he shot it once more.

"Shane, that's enough!" Rick shouted but he stomped up to the walker.

"Yeah, you're right man, that it enough" Shane grumbled shooting the walker in the head, and everyone watched as they collapsed to the ground and Hershal watched in shock.

"Enough living next to a barn full of things that are trying to kill us," Shane shouted stopping in front of the barn doors, "enough. Rick, it ain't like it was before. Now if ya'll want to live, if you all want to survive, then you've got to fight for it! I'm talking about fighting right here, right now," Shane shouted running to the barn doors and shooting the lock opening the doors.

"Carol! Steven! Get the kids out of here!" Valora shouted pulling her gun out and Carol took Melanie, Kayden, Sophia, and Lori left with Carl.

Valora turned her head to see walkers pouring out of the barn, and the first shot came from Shane's gun as he hit the first walker out of the barn. Andrea quickly rushed to his side, and aimed. Valora watched as Daryl ran up and began shooting. Valora looked back to Beth who was about to run out to a woman. Valora rushed over to her, and held her back as she watched them shoot her down. Beth covered her mouth with her hand and the she collapsed to the ground with Valora falling with her. She held the girl tight as pain filled cries filled her ears. She held her tight looking away from the barn not wanting to witness what was happening.

Once the gunfire had ceased she looked up to see bodies scattered in front of the barn. She held a hand to her mouth at the amount of people that were there. There had to be more than fifteen people that were in that barn. Fifteen people that these people had known, people that they had lived with every day before this happened. People that they knew, or people who they'd only waved to when they went to the store. These were people that had a life before this happened, and they had happened to be those unfortunate enough to have this happen to them. Everyone stopped and froze at the sound of growling coming from in the barn. Everyone held their guns tightly as they kept aim on the barn, but when the walker walked out they all dropped. Amy. Amy was there in the barn, and she was a walker.

"W-why was Amy in there?" Andrea asked in a panic, "I thought you said she wasn't going to turn. I thought you said that she lived through the infection."

"I thought she did," Jenner said looking at Amy who was looking up at everyone around her, "I-I thought, that's what I had heard of, I hadn't witnessed it, but I heard about it. I guess they were wrong."

"No, no, no, no, no," Andrea said grabbing her head, "she was fine this morning. She smiled at me and told me she felt fine. Oh my god."

Andrea had collapsed to the ground as she watched her sister slowly make her way to them, and she watched as Rick emerged from behind them. He pulled out his gun, and stopped in front of her holding the gun to her head. He held his eyes closed tightly and the sound of the gunshot echoed louder than all of the gunshots from before combined. Following the gunshot was Andreas cries of pain as she watched her sister collapse to the ground with blood slowly making its way down her forehead.

Valora looked to the sad faces around her, and then her eyes went to the sixteen year old girl that was still wrapped in her arms. She looked down at her tearstained face as she looked over to her mother who was on the ground, dead. She watched as the girls face went from sad to no emotion at all. She lifted her hand up and gingerly wiped away the fallen tears, and slowly helped the girl to stand up.

"C'mon," Valora said helping her up to her feet.

Beth slowly stood up, and Valora began to walk her over to the many walkers sprawled in front of the barn. She helped her over to the woman who she had once called her mom, and Valora helped her move the other walker off of her. Bethe rolled her mom over so she was on her back, and she began to sob again. Valora pulled out her gun and fired when she took ahold of Beth.

Beth cried harder when she saw her mother's face covered in blood, and she leaned down and rested her head on her chest. Almost completely oblivious to the fact that her mother tried to eat her. Valora put a motherly hand on the girls shoulder and she sadly smiled watching the girl cry over her mother. She wrapped her arms around the girl and held her tightly.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Steven standing there. Valora let the girl go, and watched as Steven wrapped his arms around the girls small frame. She looked up to him and buried her head in his chest and he ran his hand through her hair telling her everything would be okay. She stood there sadly looking to her son who was showing sadness on his face. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the carnage around her. She tensed up when she felt arms wrap around her, but relaxed when she knew it was Daryl. She turned around in his arms and wrapped hers around his torso taking in deep breaths trying to keep herself from bursting into tears right there.

After everyone had left and gone back to camp, and the Greenes went back to their house, the rest of the adults were responsible for cleanup. They separated family and friends from those who they didn't know. Tomorrow morning they would have a funeral. It was going to be a quiet day at camp and Valora was not looking forward to all of the tears that were going to be shed. her attention went from the walker she was helping carry over to the pile, to the RV which Andrea had isolated herself in.

"Valora," T-dog said snapping her from her thoughts and she looked back to see T-dog struggleing to hold the large walker up when she had let go, "you okay?" he asked once she picked it back up.

"Yeah," she sighed and grunted as they tossed the walker into the pile, "just worried about Andrea."

"Girls though," T-dog said wiping the sweat off his brow, "she'll be okay."

"I hope you're right," Valora sighed, "I'll talk to her after we get this all done though."

"Probably a good idea," T-dog said heading over to the next walker they were going to carry to the pile of walkers they were going to set ablaze.

Valra grabbed the walkers feet, and when she looked up she saw daryl approaching her, "I told you that you're not helping."

"I can't stand sitting over there," Daryl grumbled heading over to pick up the side T-dog was supposed to grab, "fucking boring."

Valroa dropped the walkers feet and crossed her arms over her chest, "you're injured, and I don't want you to hurt yourself more."

Daryl sent a glare to her and grumbled some curse words as he turned around stomping back to camp, and she heard T-dog laugh, "you're the only one that can get him to do something he doesn't want to do."

"He only does it because he'll be punished," she said grabbing the walkers feet again, "and he won't like the punishment very much."

T-dog laughed again, "I know I wouldn't like it if Jacqui punished me like that."

Valora smirked to herself, and they tossed the walker into the pile. She sighed looking back to where there was no more walkers to take care of. She looked over to where Rick and Shane were digging holes for those who they were going to bury. She sadly smiled in their direction and turned back to see T-dog tossing a match at the walkers in the pile. She stayed there until the walkers were burning, and the fire was taller than her. Even though the smell was revolting, she held a hand to her nose and breathed in her mouth. She told T-dog he could leave and he had a while ago.

She was still standing there as she watched the rotted flesh burn to ashes. She squatted down and sat on the ground with her legs crossed. She finally gave up and took her hand from her nose that wasn't helping. She sat there thinking about these people and how they had friends and family who had missed them. These people had lives before this, and they died in probably the worst way possible.


	27. The Living

After Valora was sure that all of the bodies were burnt she walked back. She looked to where they were placing the bodies of Amy, Shawn, and Annette in the ground. She swallowed back the tears that she wanted to cry, and kept walking in silence with Daryl back to the camp. Once they were over there she sadly looked to the RV where Andrea was.

"I'll be right back," Valora said sadly smiling at the RV, "I need to go do something."

Daryl looked down at her, and looked in the direction of where she was looking and he placed a kiss on her temple, "I'll be in the tent," he said and walked over to his tent.

Valora slowly made her way to the RV, and she stopped in front of the door. She heard muffled cries come from inside, and she lifted a hand quietly knocking. She heard the cries stop and one last sniff before she opened the door. When she walked in she looked to the back to see a huge lump on the bed. She slowly made her way to the back and sat on the bed opposite of her.

"I don't need your pity," Andrea growled from under the blanket with her voice strained.

"I didn't come here to take pity on you," Valora said and Andrea sat up glaring at her with red puffy eyes.

"Oh yeah? Then why would you come here? Did Dale send you?" she snapped at her.

"No, he didn't send me. I came here on my own will," Valora sadly smiled to her and took in a deep breath, "I lost my sister when this started, and I thought that maybe you could talk to someone who understands somewhat on what you're going through."

"You don't know what I'm going through," Andrea spat at her, "Jenner told me that she was going to be okay. He told me that she was going to be okay, he told me that she rejected the virus. He- he lied to me."

"We were all lied to," Valora sighed, "in this world nobody can go through it without lying some."

"Does that mean you're lying about your 'sister'?" she asked her tone angry.

"No," she shook her head, "but I did lie about something else."

"What is it then? You lost your puppy when the world went to shit?" she laughed, "I feel so sorry for you that you had to lie about that."

"I lied about how I had Steven," Valora said her voice holding no emotion as she looked to the ground, "I had him when I was thirteen."

"Whoopdedoo," she waved her hand, "you were a slut when you were in middle school, congrats."

"I came home from a birthday party late one day," Valroa said totally ignoring what Andrea had commented, "he was a drunk, and he got angry when he was drunk. Told me to strip down, and he had his way with me."

Andrea covered her mouth regretting her comment from before, and Valora continued, "my mom wanted me to have an abortion, but I wanted to keep the baby and my sister supported me along with her boyfriend who was her husband later on. The man saved me from getting bitten by a walker. Pulled him right off of me and got bit instead. Used himself as bait so that we could get out," Valora choked out the last part, and rubbed her eyes, "sorry I shouldn't be the one crying and telling you my sappy story. I came here to listen to yours."

"N-no," Andrea choked out, "you have every right to cry right now."

Valora sighed moving her hands from her face and sadly smiling at Andrea, "so you want to talk about Amy?"

Andrea looked from Valroa to her hands that rested in her lap, and she took in a deep breath, "Amy was like the complete opposite of me. Always making friends easily, and she had this thing about fantasy. Dragons, Trolls, Elves, you name it, but she loved Mermaids the most."

Valroa sadly smiled at her, "I loved fantasy things too."

Andrea slightly laughed, "that could be why she talked about you every once and awhile. She said that you were the most badass chick in the group. Said she wished she could be you, but she was too chicken to do half of the things you've done. That's why I started to not like you, because you know how the younger one is supposed to look up to the older sibling."

Valora nodded her head, "yeah, I know about that."

"I guess I was jealous that she looked up to you more than me," Andrea sighed, "Amy, she was my best friend after all of this happened. I think that we became closer when this happened."

"Do what Kayden said," Valroa sadly sighed, "'its okay to cry because that lets you know that you'll be able to smile in the end.'"

Andrea smiled and pulled her legs close to her body, "yeah. Little kids too smart for his age."

"Yeah," Valora smiled standing up, "hope he's able to live in a world like this."

"I'll be at the funeral tomorrow," Andrea breathed out, "I just need today."

"See you tomorrow then," Valroa sadly smiled to her before stepping out of the RV.

She quietly closed the door and let out the breath she had been holding and she looked up. Dale was leaning on the truck in front of her, and she smiled to him and made her way over to him. She leaned on the truck next to him and sighed.

"How is she?" Dale asked looking at her with his eyes filled with obvious worry for the girl.

"She'll pull through," Valroa sadly smiled to him, "she just needs today to work things out with herself. She knows about my step-dad now."

Dale put a hand on her shoulder, "you didn't have to tell her about that."

"I wanted to," Valora nodded sadly smiling at him, "everyone will find out sooner or later, and besides, it was something to get her mind off of Amy even if it was for a second."

"Thank you," Dale smiled to her and wrapped his arms around her in a fatherly hug.

"No problem," she said wrapping her arms around him returning the hug.

"Have any cigarettes? I could really use some," Dale sighed leaning back on the truck.

"Yeah," Valroa said pulling the pack and lighter out of her pocket and handing it to him.

"Thanks," he nodded lighting the cigarette in his mouth and handed them back to her.

"It's going to be pretty quiet for a while," Valora sighed sliding down so that she was now sitting on the ground.

Dale nodded to her and stepped forward so he could sit down next to her, "I'm pretty sure that Shane doing that is going to get us kicked off the farm."

Valora nodded her head sadly, "I just hope the man changes his mind. We have kids, and Lori has one on the way. I'd say the only threat is that group Morgan and Duane were with, and Shane. Walkers are no problem."

"As long as they don't travel in large numbers," Dale nodded his head blowing out some smoke.

Valora chuckled, "yeah, fucking walkers are getting smarter."

"Yeah," Dale nodded his head.

"I really don't want to move around much more," Valroa shook her head and putting it on her knees, "I don't want to live my life on the run. This place is a safe haven, somewhere the kids can grow up somewhat normally."

Dale nodded his head, "I just hope the kids don't have to grow up too fast."

"Yeah," Valora sighed, and she slowly stood up, "gotta go, my knight in sleeveless armor is awaiting me at his castle."

Dale laughed as he watched her stand up, "go to your injured knight, I'm sure he misses you."

"Whatever," she laughed walking in the direction of Daryls tent.

When she was there she slowly unzipped the tent at first, but then decided just to unzip it all the way. Once she stepping inside, she sat on the cot next to Daryls and took off her knife and gun setting them under the cot. She looked up to see Daryl laying on his cot with a hand on his stomach, and one behind his head with his eyes watching her every movement.

"You okay?" he asked, and she smiled at him.

"Yeah," she sighed moving over to his cot and laying down next to him, "I'm fine."

"Wanna talk about it?" he asked playing with a piece of her hair.

She took in a deep breath before talking, "I told Andrea about my step-dad."

She felt him tense up and then relax as he planted a kiss on the top of her head, "what'd she say?"

"Nothing really," Valora sighed now recalling the rude comment she had made, "nothing really."

"You just said the same thing twice," Daryl said raising an eyebrow down at her.

"I did?" she asked not remembering saying anything twice, "must be getting tired."

"Days not even half over," Daryl said still playing with her hair.

"Been a long morning then," she sighed moving her head closer into his chest.

"Go to sleep," Daryl whispered, "I'm not letting anything happen to you."

She looked up to him, and she softly smiled and moved in for a kiss. When he pulled away she smiled to him, and rested her head on his chest feeling the tiredness from the day kicking in.

* * *

Valora woke up the next morning when she felt herself being shaken awake. She peeked through her lashes to see Steven standing over her. She blinked her eyes hard before opening them fully. She felt herself alone in the bed, and she looked around for Daryl but he wasn't there.

"They're getting ready to start mom," Steven sadly smiled down at her, "Beth isn't taking it well, so I have to go."

She watched as Steven's back disappeared out of the tent, and she slowly stood up. She grabbed her knife and gun out from under the cot, and strapped them on her legs as she made her way to the three trees near the barn where they buried the bodies. She looked to see Daryl standing next to T-dog looking back at her. She sadly smiled to him, as she made her way to his side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her shoulder tight. She watched as the Greene family along with Steven and Glenn make their ways over. She sadly smiled to Steven who was holding Beth's hand. They were almost there when Beth burst into tears and ran back to the house with Steven following closely behind her.

Everyone stood quietly around the graves mourning those who had been lost. Valora felt the tears slowly rising in her eyes, and this time she let them fall. She stood there silently letting the tears fall as she looked around to the sad faces around her. Her eyes landed on Kayden and Melanie, the two of them were holding pictures in their hands, and they walked up to where Amy was buried and set them down with a rock over them to hold them down. Valora held a hand to her mouth trying to hold back her cries, and she felt Daryl tighten his grip on her shoulder.

Shane was the first one to leave, and one by one everyone left. Valora took in a deep breath and wiped away the last of her tears before turning around with Daryl at her side. The two of them slowly made their way up to the house where Steven was still with Beth. They were surprised when he came running out with a paniced look.

"B-Beth collapsed," he quickly said and Daryl rushed into the house, followed by Valora.

Steven led them to the bedroom that was Beth's and they saw her lying on the bed her eyes opened and not moving, "where's Hershal?"

"I don't know where he is," Steven said rubbing his head, "I-I'll go look for hi-"

"No, I'll look for him," Valora said walking past him, "I'm sure you'd regret it if something happened to her and you weren't here."

Steven nodded his head going to her side. Valroa walked through the house and no trace of Hershal. She ran into Maggie and Glenn who were arguing in the living room.

"Beth collapsed," was all she had to say and the two of them were up the stairs and in her room.

"Beth, can you hear me?" Maggie asked as she was standing next to her.

Valora entered the room and looked to her, "do you know what happened?"

"Probably in shock," Daryl said looking up to her, "any sign of Hershal?"

"No," Valora shook her head, "but you might want to take a look at his room."

She led them to his too see all of the boxes on the bed, and floor. Packed like they were moving out. Valroa moved over to the closet and opened the door.

"He packed your stepmothers things," Valora sadly smiled to Maggie.

"He was so sure that she'd recover he kept her stuff clean," Maggie said, "they'd just pick up where they left off."

Daryl walked over to a desk and picked up a small canteen, and he chuckled, "looks like he found an old friend."

"That belonged to my grandfather, gave it to him when he died," Maggie said looking to him, and around the room to all of the faces looking at her.

"Didn't take Hershal for a drinker," Daryl said tossing the bottle to Maggie.

"No, he gave it up on the day I was born," Maggie said her expression turning into worry, "he didn't even allow liquor in the house."

"What's the bar in town?" Valora asked walking over to Maggie.

"Haltin's," Maggie said looking to Valora to the small container in her hand, "he practically lived there in his drinking days."

"Probably where we'll find him," Valora said looking from Maggie and then up to Daryl who was glaring in her direction.

"You ain't goin into that town," Daryl said his anger slightly rising, "not after what happened before."

"I'll be fine," Valora assured him, "I'll go with Rick."

"Still don't want you going into town," Daryl said walking up to her so he stood taller than her, "you ain't going."

"I am Daryl," Valora said up to him, "and you're staying. I'll be fine, and you will stay here and watch over everyone else. Keep an eye on Shane."

He glared down at her one last time before shaking his head, "damn women," he grumbled leaving the room to take his anger out somewhere else.

"You ready Glenn?" she asked taking in a deep breath.

"I'd like it if I was able to stay," Glenn said rubbing the back of his neck, "if you're cool with that."

"It's fine," she smiled, "ain't gonna force you into something you don't want to do."

"Thanks," he nodded, "need a small break from doing work."

Valora nodded to him before leaving the room and heading down the stairs to run into Rick, "hey, you ready?"

He raised an eyebrow to her, "Hershal is in the town, and you and I are going to go and get his ass back here so he can help Beth."

"Can't Jenner?" Rick asked.

"Jenner's a- different kind of doctor, is what he tells me, besides you're going to need Hershal if you want Lori's baby to be brought into this world properly," she smiled up at his shocked expression, "I'll be in the car if you want to say your goodbyes to your family."

Valora made her way to the yellow truck that belonged to Jimmy and hopped in the passengers seat. She looked over to Lori who was arguing with Rick about something and she sadly smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. She sighed before he turned around and headed to the truck. He climbed in the drivers side and turned the keys that were already in the ignition.

"You ready?" she asked.

He took in a deep breath and sighed, "ready as I'll ever be."

"We're hitting two birds with one stone now," Valora laughed and he gave her a confused look, "getting Hershal, and getting the other truck."

He nodded his head, "yeah, two birds with one stone."

"Can't talk to me normally anymore?" she asked him and he shook his head.

"I've had so much on my plate lately," Rick sighed.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked, "we got plenty of time, and we got nothing else to talk about."

"Carl was shot, Lori is pregnant, she fucked Shane when she thought I was dead, Amy became a walker, and now we have to go and get Hershal who might just kick us off the farm in the end," Rick sighed gripping the steering wheel tighter, "just so much to think about, and such little time to process it all."

Valora nodded her head, "good things have come too. Morgan and Duane for instance, its by pure luck that they were the ones we ran into that day. You're having a kid, and you have a loving wife and son. Don't forget that everyone in the group looks at you like you're the president."

Rick chuckled, "I'm a pretty bad choice for president. Voted for the wrong person."

"Shane would be the other choice," she said her voice cold, "you were definitely the right choice. I know he's your friend, but he is not the same man you once knew Rick. I'd be careful around him."

"I know," Rick nodded his head, "I don't want to believe it, but its the truth. He might change though."

Valora shook her head, "I think he's in too deep. Not even you can pull him out."

"That's the part I don't want to believe," Rick said sitting up straighter in his chair as we got closer to the town. Once we pulled up next to the bar that was across the street of the pharmacy they looked to see that the blue truck was no longer there. Valora stepped out of the car and put her hands on her hips and looked over to Rick.

"Well shit," she said running her hand through her hair.

"No kidding," Rick said, "forget the truck, lets just get Hershal."

She nodded her head and pulled out her gun as they walked up to the bar. Rick pulled out his gun and banged the door open. They walked inside to see a man sitting in a chair on the other side of the bar. She put her gun away when she realized who it was and closed the door behind Rick walking inside.

"Hershal?" Rick asked as he walked closer.

"Who's with you?" Hershal asked not moving.

"Valora," Rick said.

"Patricia send her?"

"She came to me telling me we should get you. She's good like that," Rick said and the two of them moved closer to him.

Hershal took another drink from his glass, and Rick walked up to his side and Valroa stood back a few feet, "how many have you had?"

"Not enough," Hershal sighed looking to his glass.

"Let's finish this back at home," Rick said in a whisper bending down to his eye level, "Beth collapsed, is in some sort of state. Must be in shock, I think you are too."

"Maggie's with her?" he asked looking to Rick.

"Yeah, but Beth needs you," Rick said looking at him with pleading eyes.

"What could I do?" Hershal asked sadly looking to his drink, "she needs her mother, or rather to mourn like she should've done weeks ago. I robbed her of that. I see that now."

Rick shook his head and looked back to Valora, "you thought there was a cure. Can't blame yourself for holding onto hope."

"Hope?" Hershal asked looking to the wall in front of him, "when I first saw you running across my field with your boy in your arms, I had a little hope he would survive."

"But he did," Rick assured him.

"He did," Hershal said nodding his head, "even though we lost Otis. Your man Shane made it back and we saved your boy. That was the miracle that proved to me that miracles do exist. Only it was a sham, a bait and switch. I was a fool, Rick, and you people saw that. My daughters deserve better than that."

Rick looked back to Valora who gulped back the tears that she wanted to let go. She turned around and made her way over to the front door to keep watch. She peeked her head out, and nothing in sight. Just an empty town. She sighed and looked back to see Rick making his way towards her.

"So what do we do?" he asked his voice strained from the lack of sleep, "just wait for him to pass out?"

"Just go," Hershal barked to him not turning around, "just go!"

"I promised Maggie that I would bring you back home safe," Rick said turning around to look at the old man.

Hershal chuckled looking down at his drink and Rick made his way over to him, "so what's your plan? Finish that bottle? Drink yourself to death and leave your girls alone?"

Hershal slammed his glass down and stood up turning around to face Rick, "stop telling me how to care for my family, my farm. You people are like a plague! I do the Christian thing, and give your people shelter, and you destroy it all!"

"The world was already in bad shape when we met," Rick said trying to calm the drunk man.

"And you take no responsibility!" Hershal said shouted in his face, "you're supposed to be their leader!"

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Rick shouted back at him.

Hershal stopped and took in a few deep breaths before breathing out, "yes. Yes. Yes, you are," he turned around and slowly sat back down taking another sip of his drink.

Rick slowly approached the man standing at his side whispering to him, "now come on. Your girls need you now more than ever."

He grabbed for his arm but Hershal moved it out of the way and looked up to him with sad eyes, "I didn't want to believe you. You told me there was no cure, that these people were dead, not sick. I chose not to believe that. But when Shane shot Lou in the chest and she just kept coming, that's when I knew what an ass I'd been, that Annette had been dead long ago and I was feeding a rotten corpse!" Hershal shouted looking up to Rick with tears brimming in his eyes, "that's when I knew that there was no hope. And when the girl came out of the barn- the look on everyones face- I knew they knew it too. Right? There is no hope. And you all know it now, like I do. Don't you?"

Rick looked down, then over to Valora who had tears brimming in her eyes, and she shook her head, "look I'm done," Rick said holding a hand up to his head, "cleaning up after you. You know what the truth is? Nothing has changed. Death is death. Its always been there, whether its from a heart attack, cancer, or a walker. What's the difference? You didn't think it was hopeless before, did you? Now there are people back at home trying to hang on. They need us, even if its just to give them a reason to go on, even if we don't believe it ourselves. You know what? This- this isn't about what we believe anymore. It's about them."

Hershal looked to Rick and then to the cup in his hands. He lifted the glass to his mouth and tipped his head back drinking the rest and setting it down on the counter with a loud thud. When the two of them stood up the front door creaked open and Valroa turned around aiming her gun two the two men standing at the entrance.

"Son of a bitch," one of the men said and Valoras heart began to race, it was the man from before, "they're alive."

Valora lowered her gun, trying not to give away the fact that she had seen them before. She slowly backed up until she was stopped at Ricks side. The two men walked farther in and closed the door behind them. The two of them plopped down in two of the chairs that were stacked on top of the table after they set them on the ground. Rick grabbed a glass of wine and poured two glasses for both of the men.

The man from before sighed, "I'm Andy. That douchbag over there is Jake."

The man known as Jake laughed, "eat me Andy."

"Hey maybe someday I will," the other man said shrugging his shoulders with a chuckle, "we met on I-95 coming out of Philly. Damn shit show that was."

"I'm Jenna," Valora smiled to the two men hiding her fear, "its nice to see some new people around here."

"Ted," Rick said setting the bottle in front of Valora.

Andy looked to Hershal and gestured to the drink in his hand, "how about you pal? Have one?"

"I just quit," Hershal said back to the man.

"You make a unique sense of timing, my friend," he laughed drinking from his glass.

"His name's Daniel, he lost people today, a lot of them," Rick said to him.

The man looked down and nodded his head to Hershal, "I'm truly sorry to hear that. To better days and new friends. And to our dead- may they be in a better place."

'Bullshit,' Valora thought taking a drink from the bottle of wine she was holding.

Andy set his drink on the table, and looked to Rick pulling his gun out of the back of his pants, "not bad, huh? I got it off a cop."

"I am a cop," Rick said nodding his head to him.

"This one was dead," he sighed tossing the gun around in his hands.

"You fellas are a long way from Philadelphia," Rick said adjusting himself on the barstool.

"It feels like we're a long way from anywhere," Jake snapped.

"Well, what drove you South?" Rick asked putting his glass to his lips taking a sip.

"Well, I can tell you it wasn't the weather," Andy chuckled, "I must've dropped thirty pounds. In sweat alone down here. No, first it was D.C. I heard there might be some kind of refuge camp, but the roads were so jammed, we never even got close. We decided to get off the highways, into the sticks, keep hauling ass. Every group we came across had a way out of this thing."

"One guy told us that there was the coast guard sitting in the gulf, sending ferries to the island," Jake said looking to Rick.

"The latest was a railyard in Montgomery running trains to the middle of the country- Kansas, Nebraska," Andy said shaking his head.

"Nebraska?" Valora laughed.

"Low population, lots of guns," Jake shrugged his shoulders.

"Makes sense," Valroa said taking another drink from the bottle.

"Ever been to Nebraska, kid?" Andy asked.

"Born there," she laughed, "we moved after I was seven months old."

"How about you guys?" Andy asked looking up to Rick.

"Fort Benning, eventually," Rick said looking to the wall of assorted drinks.

"I hate to piss in your cornflakes, officer, but..." Andy trailed off and looked to his feet, looking back up to Rick he continued, "we ran across a grunt who was stationed at Benning. he said that the place was overrun by the Lamebrains."

"Wait," Valroa said raising her eyebrows, "Fort Benning is gone? Are you for real?"

"Sadly, I am," Andy said looking up to her and then to Rick who was holding his head in one hand, "oddly, the truth is there is no way out of this mess. Just keep going from one pipe dream to the next, praying one of these mindless freaks doesn't grab ahold of you while you sleep."

"If you sleep," Jake muttered.

"Yeah," Andy said looking around the bar, "doesn't look like you guys are hanging your hats here. You hold up somewhere else?"

Rick was about to speak but Valora got to it before him, "nah, we just move around. Hope that we find gas whenever we need it. Just the three of us now, lost a lot of people today."

He slowly nodded his head, "sorry to hear that, but your cars look pretty clean. Where's all your gear?"

"Left most of it where we came from," Rick said, "overrun by a herd of them, the cars that held all of our gear were left behind. We're hoping that we could wait it out, and see if we could go back and get our stuff."

"We came here to get our minds off of the people we lost," Hershal said, "thought we could use a drink."

"A drink? Daniel I thought you quit?" Andy smirked to him, and when he didn't respond he went on, "well we were thinking of setting up around here. Is- is it safe?"

"Depends if you fire off the bullets to attract that herd of walkers by where we were," Valora sighed finishing the last of the bottle of wine that was already half empty.

"Walkers? That what you call 'em?" Andy asked scratching the back of his neck, "I like that. I like that better than Lamebrains."

"More succinct," Jake commented.

"Okay Jake went to collage," Andy admitted looking to Rick.

"Two years," Jake laughed.

"So what- so what, you guys set up on the outskirts or something?" he asked looking to Rick, "just want to know what part to avoid."

"Around the eastern side of town," Rick told them the side that their farm was at, "avoid that place by any means necessary, don't want you boys getting hurt."

"How 'bout you guys travel with us?" Andy suggested looking over to Jake who was on the other side of the room taking a leak right in front of them.

"I think we'll be fine," Rick said looking from Valora to Hershal, "we can take care of ourselves.

"Oh, come on now," Andy smiled, "why not? We could use a cop in our group."

"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks," Valroa smiled to them walking closer to standing next to Rick.

Andy chuckled, "you guys are something else, I thought we were friends. We got people we gotta look out for, we can squeeze in three more."

"No thank you," Hershal said nodding his head.

"We don't know anything about you," Rick added.

"No, it's true," Andy said nodding his head, "you don't know what we've been through out there. The things we've had to do. I bet you've had to do the same things yourself. Am I right? 'Cause ain't nobody's hands clean in what's left of this world. We're all the same."

"Not all of us," Valroa said her tone cold as she eyed the man cautiously.

"I could shoot the three of you in the damn head and just take whatever you got," Jake said advancing closer to the three of us and Andy stood up.

"Woah woah woah woah woah woah, relax" he said holding his hands up to stop us, "take it easy. Ain't nobody killing nobody. Nobody's shooting anybody right, Ted?" Andy said hopping over the bar and standing on the other side.

Rick put his hand on his gun followed by Valora and Jake from behind went to his gun, and Andy held up a hand pulling out his gun setting it on the counter, "look. We're just friends having a drink that's all. Now, where's the good stuff, huh?" Good stuff, good stuff, good stuff. Let's see," he said running his hands together looking under the counter and looked to Rick who put his hand on his gun, and he pulled out a bottle, "hey, look at that. That'll work. You gotta understand- you guys can't stay here alone. You know what its like."

"Yeah, I do," Rick said nodding his head, and Valroa kept her hand on her gun for precaution, "but I think it would be better if the both of us just went our separate ways."

"Where do you think you're gonna go?" Andy asked his hands on the bar, "how far can you get with just three people?"

"I don't know," Rick said shaking his head, "but we'll make it somehow. I just fail to see how you don't understand that."

The man laughed, and before you know it Rick had his gun pulled out and he shot Andy. While Valroa took out Jake. When he hit the ground she covered her mouth with her hand. She let her hand holding the gun drop to her side, and she let tears flow out. She fell to her knees, and dropped the gun in front of her.

"I-I killed him," she choked out, "I-I killed a man, a-and he wasn't a walker. Oh my god."

Rick rushed to her side, "Valora he was going to kill you. You had no choice."

"B-but he was-" she said pointing to him, and Rick stopped her.

"I need you to focus for now," Rick said grabbing her gun and placing it in her hand, "I need you to be the strong Valora I know, do it for those back home."

She looked up at him with her eyes still wide with shock, and she slowly nodded her head. She took in a deep breath as she stood up, exhaling loudly. She looked to Jake's body and shivered trying not to think about the fact that she had been the one to kill him. She had never killed a living person before, and it was going to take its toll on her when she got back.


	28. Destanie

"Let's head back," Hershal said taking in what had just happened.

Rick slowly nodded his head and kneeled down to Jake's prone body and grabbed the rifle laying next to him. Valroa swallowed hard, and turned to find Andy's body. She went behind the bar, and looked down at the lifeless form of him. His gun was on the other side of his body, and Valora gulped again before she stepped over him. She slowly bent down picking up the gun, keeping her eye on Andy's face. He didn't so much as twitch when she quickly stood up with the gun in her hand. She sighed in relief, and stuck his gun in the back of her pants. When she looked up her eyes met Rick's and she nodded to him.

She walked around the counter, and shoved her gun in its holster. Then they saw lights shine through the dusty windows, and they were all crouched down. Valora quickly rushed to where Rick and Hershal were, and she put her back against the wall.

They heard the sound of a car door creaking open and closed, and then a mans voice, "Andy? Jake? They said they over here."

"Yeah," another man responded.

"I'm telling you man I heard shots," another man said his tone full of worry.

"I saw roamers two streets down, might be some more around," one of them said.

"It's hot, we gotta get out of here," the other man said, and then they heard the creaking of the floorboards from outside the bar. Valora bit her bottom lip, and squeezed her eyes shut as the creaking noise slowly faded away.

"Andy! Jake!" shouted one of the men from far away.

"Shut up you idiot, you wanna attract 'em?" a man said in a harsh tone, "we're gonna find 'em."

Valora looked to the door to see the figure of a scrawny man looking into the building. She bit her lip till it bled, and she mentally sighed as she watched the figure disappear. She looked to Rick who was breathing heavily, but trying his hardest to keep quiet. When they were sure that they were out of earshot Rick slowly moved to where Valora and Hershal were sitting.

"Why won't they leave?" Valora quietly shouted.

"Would you?" Hershal asked.

"We can't sit here any longer," Rick whispered looking to the window, and then around the bar, "let's head out the back and make a run for the car."

We all nodded to him. Once we were on our feet, and getting ready to go out back there was a gunshot. They were all back to where they were sitting, but their hearts were racing. Valora looked to Rick with worry in here still wide eyes. They all pulled out their guns and Rick peeked out the one window that wasn't as dusty to see two men who were pretty fit.

"What happened?" one of them asked.

"Roamers, I nailed 'em," the scrawny man said in one breath

Then a third man rushed up to them, "they disappeared, but their cars still here."

"I cleared those buildings. Did you guys get that one?" the man asked gesturing towards the bar.

"No," one said, and the other, "me neither."

"We're looking for Andy and Jake, and no one checks the damn bar?" the man laughed.

Valoras breath began to come in short pants, and her heart was racing. She looked up to Rick who was looking at her with an equal amount of fear in his eyes. She watched as the door slowly began to open, and her body reacted before her mind. She was now sitting in front of the door. Now the men outside knew that they were in there.

"What?" one man asked, "someone pushed it shut. There's someone in there."

Rick glared to Valroa as another man spoke up, "yo, someone in there? Yo, if someone's in there, we don't want no trouble. We're just looking for our friends."

"What do we do?" another man asked when none of us responded.

"Bum rush the door?" one of them suggested.

"No, we don't know how many there are. Just relax," a man said in a calm tone, "we don't want any trouble. We're just looking for our friends. If something happened, just tell us. This place is crawling with you can help us not get killed, I'd appreciate it."

Rick looked down, and then over to Valora who shook her head to him, and his face hardened as he swallowed hard, one of the men spoke up, "you're bugging man. Nobody's in there."

"Somebody guard the door. If they're in there, they might know where Andy and Jake are.

Rick shook his head, and then he took in a deep breath before speaking, "they drew on us!" Hershal covered his mouth with his hand not liking where this was going to go.

"Jake and Andy in there?" a man asked through the door, "they alive?"

Rick looked around the room pressing his lips together to form a thin line, and sweat was running down his brow as he took in a deep breath before strongly saying, "no."

"They killed Jake and Andy, man," one of the men said worry in his voice.

"Come on man, let's go," another man said put he protested.

"No, I'm not leaving," he said sternly to him, "I'm not telling Jane. I'm not going back and tell them that Jake and Andy got shot by some assholes in a bar."

"Your friends drew on us!" Rick shouted to them, "they gave us no choice! I'm sure we've all lost enough people, done things we wish we didn't have to, but it's like that now, you know that! So let's just chalk this us to what it was- wrong place, wrong-"

Rick was cut off by the sound of guns firing and glass shattering. The men outside were firing at them through the door. Valroa covered her head with her hands, and Rick fired back outside to the men firing in, "get out of here! Go!" Rick shouted to Hershal and Valora.

Valora was up on her feet, and was heading to the back. She looked back to see Hershal rushing to hide behind a wall for protection, and she quickly made her way to the door in the back. She sat down in front of the door holding her gun as she panted, and there were no more gunshots being fired anymore. She looked over to Hershal who was sliding about to slide a rifle to her but she shook her head, and he nodded to her as he loaded the gun. She was panting heavily now with a small sweat running down her brow. She looked over to Rick to see him dumping out the empty shells in his gun.

"Hey!" he shouted reloading his gun, "we all know that this is not going to end well! There's nothing in it for any of us! You guys just- just back off, no one else gets hurt!"

Rick nodded to the door in the back, and Valora looked to it. She was the closest one, so she was going to be the one to go there. She got to her feet quickly and ducked behind the bar in case the men outside decided to shoot in at them again. She twisted the doorknob and slowly opening the door, cringing at the creaking noise it made. She held her gun out and aimed it into the empty room. She slowly took a step down the stairs her gun still aimed and ready to fire. The stairs she was walking down creaked with every step, and she scrunched her face every time. She rushed down the rest of the steps making the least amount of noise she could, and she kept her eyes on that back door. She swallowed hard she she neared the door. She was about halfway into the room when she heard bottles clattering, and a man swear. She held her gun tight aiming it at the back door, and when she saw a man's figure she fired her gun. Listening to the glass shatter, and fall to the ground.

"Valora," Rick said quietly, then he shouted, "Valora!"

"I-I'm alright. I'm alright," she shouted back to him.

She cocked her gun, and put her back to the wall closest to the door. She took in a deep breath as she slowly made her way over to the door. She heard footsteps behind and she turned around to see Hershal holding his hands up. She pulled her gun down the her side, and sighed, being glad that it was just him.

"Sorry," she breathed out, "sorry."

"Rick wants you to try for the car," Hershal said to her in a calm tone.

"Try?" she laughed.

"You'll try," Hershal said in a strong voice, "and you'll succeed. I'll cover you."

"That's a great plan," she nodded her head, and sighed looking back to the back door.

She took in a deep breath, and pushed herself off the wall. She looked out the door, making sure that there was nobody there. Once she was sure she slowly turned the doorknob, and slowly walked out with Hershal on her heels. Hershal stopped at the door keeping cover on her, and she slowly made her way down the alley. She heard a gun fire, and then the woosh of the bullet passing by her head. She rushed next to the dumpster and sat down trying to catch her breath. She sat there holding her gun to her chest looking around with wide eyes.

The only thing she could hear was the ringing in her right ear as she sat there. When her hearing finally came back, Rick was standing over her, and she was being shaken out of her thoughts. Rick was sitting next to her behind the dumpster, and Hershal was still standing at the doorway watching the man he shot down in the grass.

"Let's go," Rick said back to her and she nodded her head.

Once they were past the dumpster slightly bullets were going past her and she panicked. She went back to her cover behind the dumpster and she looked up to see the scrawny man on top of the roof of the building with another person. She raised an eyebrow because the other one was just standing there watching as the other had a gun and was firing.

The a truck pulled up and a man was shouting to the people on the roof, "let's get out of here! Roamers all over the place! Hurry up! We gotta get outta here!"

"What about Sean!?" the one with the gun shouted to him.

"They shot him. We gotta go. Roamers everywhere!" the man in the car shouted.

The man with the gun on the roof rushed the other person to the side of the building and they heard a loud thud. Then he jumped, and the thud of him hitting the dumpster he fell on was a pain-filled scream. Valroa cringed at the scream, and then it was followed by a scream of fear.

"I gotta go!" the man in the truck shouted stepping on the exhilarator and he was gone.

Valroa was on her feet and rushing over to where the boy had jumped down. She looked over and covered her mouth. The boys leg had gone right through a metal fence. She quickly rushed over to him, and barely touched his leg and he screamed.

"Can you help him?" the other person asked me worry filled in their eyes.

Valora nodded her head, "I'll do everything I can."

Then she felt a hand on her arm and she looked up to see Hershal standing there, "we have to go."

"No!" the boy shouted.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go," Hershal said to him.

"Fuck, we're not leaving him behind," Valroa said, "it's inhumane."

"He tried to kill us," Rick said through clenched teeth.

"He had a goddamned right to do so," she glared to him, and she saw his jaw tighten, "now its either you help me get him out of here, or you fucking leave me behind with them."

"Then fence went clean through, there's no way we can get this leg off in one piece," Hershal said examining the leg.

Rick was taken away with Hershal talking to him, "we're not gonna get that leg off without tearing the muscle to shreds. He certainly can't run. He may bleed out."

Valora was standing over next to the boy who was crying in pain, "be quiet," she hushed him and he threw his head back banging it on the dumpster as he bit his bottom lip.

"Maybe we should put him down," Hershal said, "I don't want to see anymore killing, but this is cruel."

"Can't we just take the leg off?" Valora said in a rushed tone.

"That hatchet still in the car?" Rick asked Hershal.

"No- no, no, no- don't cut my leg off," the boy begged, "don't, don't, please."

Valroa pulled out her knife and handed it to Hershal, "this should work," she turned back and took off her belt and began to wrap it around the boys leg, "calm down, not having one leg won't be so bad."

"Not in this world," he said looking to her with worry all over his face.

"Th-they're coming!" the other person shouted pointing to the other end of the alley.

Valora looked to the walkers then to the person standing there looking to her with worry in her eyes, and she pulled the gun out of the back of her pants, "I can trust you, right?" she said handing the gun to the person, and they nodded their head turning back to the walkers and blasting their brains out.

She looked to the other side of Hershal to see Rick shooting walkers coming from the street, and he shouted, "guys, we have to leave now."

Valora looked around then to the leg Hershal was about to cut into. She looked to the person she entrusted with her gun, and she shook her head. She shoved Hershals hands away and pulled the boys leg off the fence tearing through muscle. The boy screamed, and that caused the other person to whip their head around. They shot two more walkers that were coming into the alley, and they rushed to Valoras side.

"Help me get him off and into the truck," she said, and the two of them began to pull him off the dumpster and into the car. Once they were in the car, Hershal began barking at them on what to do. The were to put pressure on the wound and make sure that the belt stayed tight. Valora was the one to keep the pressure on the wound, and she looked up to the other person he was with and they were keeping the belt tight around his thigh.

"You're doing great, just keep the belt as tight as it can be," Valora said rubbing the side of her face smearing some of the boys blood on her cheek, "you're doing good."

Rick started up the car, and they headed out. Once they were on the road, it quieted down, and there were less walkers. Valroa was still applying pressure to the boys wound and his friend was still holding the belt tightly around his leg. Valora looked to the person to see that tears were running down their face, and she sadly smiled to them. This person, wasn't a guy like she thought, he was a she. She had her hair tucked in her hat, and she was wearing baggy clothes to hide her features.

"So when were you gonna tell me that you were a girl?" Valroa smiled to her not wanting to have her thinking about the boy.

She looked up to her in shock, and this time in a more feminine voice she asked, "how did- did you know?"

"You can tell whether someone is a boy or girl," she smiled to her, "just a mother's gift I guess."

"Destanie," she smiled to Valora, "thank you for not leaving us behind."

"Valora," she returned the smile.

The rest of the car ride back was quiet, the only noise filling the car was the boys muffled cries. Rick slowed the car down, and looked to everyone in the back.

"I'm going to have to have you two blindfolded," Rick said with his voice straining.

"Why-" Valora started.

"It's a safety precaution," Rick interrupted her, "we don't know if we can trust them."

"I'm sorry," Valora sadly smiled to the girl, and she shook her head.

"Don't be," she smiled, "I would do the same if we were in your position."

Valora looked from Rick to the girl and then sighed. She grabbed a cloth that happened to be in the back, and she tore it so there were two pieces to put around their eyes. She let Destanie tie her own, and she tied the one around the boys eyes. She sighed sitting back, but still putting pressure on his leg.

"So when should we get there?" Valora asked.

"Sometime tomorrow morning," Rick said.

"Great," Valora said rolling her eyes.

* * *

Rick had been right about his estimation on when they'd get back. The sun was already above the trees, and Valora was sitting in the back with the two people they had run into. She learned their names last night. Destanie and Randall. She watched as the two of them slept in the back of the truck with her just sitting there. She couldn't believe how long she had been putting pressure on his wound, but Hershal eventually told her that the blood flow had slowed down enough to where he wouldn't bleed to death.

Rick stopped the car, and Valora looked out the window to see that they were in front of the house. Valora saw the worried faces of the camp rushing from the house, and the camp. Her gaze went to Steven, to Daryl, to Jenner who was standing on the porch with his hands on his kids' heads. She smiled at the worried looks on all of their faces, and she shook Destanie awake. She girl gasped awake, and Valora pulled her blindfold off.

"Come meet the rest of the group," she smiled moving to the back of the truck.

She opened the back, and when her boots hit the ground her legs were held tight by two small children. She laughed at Kayden and Melanie who were clinging to her like she was gone for a hundred years, and she was about to leave for another hundred. She squatted down to the two kids and tousled their hair and laughed.

"Miss me?" she smiled to them, and the two kids nodded their heads.

"Is that blood?" Kayden asked pointing to her cheek.

"Probably," she sighed, "but its okay, its not mine."

The two kids looked at her with unease, and she looked up when she was covered by a shadow. She stood up to see Steven was standing right in front of her. She half smiled and she was pulled into a hug. She laughed as she hugged her son back, and she looked over his shoulder to see Daryl standing there with his arms over his chest with an angered expression.

When Steven pulled away she turned around, and helped Destanie out of the car, "meet Desanie everyone," she smiled as Destanie shyly smiled to the new faces around her.

"Let's get him out," Valroa said to Destanie in a serious tone, "he needs surgery, now."

Destanie nodded to her, and they reached in and shook him awake. He jumped at being suddenly awake, but relaxed at the sound of Destanies voice. They helped him out of the back of the truck, and put his arms over both of their shoulders. Hershal led them to the shed where they would perform the surgery. Valroa wondered why they couldn't just perform the surgery in the house, but went with it.

"I'm going to need some space," Hershal said, "Rick and Patricia, I want you in here. Everyone else, leave."

Then the shed doors were closed, and pain filled screams were muffled by the walls of the shed. Valroa cringed at the sound of his screams, and she turned around to meet Destanie who was making the same expression as her. She sadly smiled and put a hand on the girls shoulder.

"C'mon," she sighed, "let's go get you cleaned up."

"Woah, woah, woah," Shane said standing in front of the two of them so they couldn't get by, "where do you think you're goin?"

"To go clean up," Valroa glared up at him, "now move out of the way, before I have to shoot your ass."

She pushed past him with one shove to his shoulder, and was violently pulled back by her wrist, "who do you think you are treating me like that?"

"Don't fucking touch her," Valora turned her head to see Daryl slowly approaching Shane, "or do you want another lesson?"

Shane glared to Daryl, and then let go of her wrist stomping off. Valora stiffened at the sense of Daryl's glare burning into the back of her head. She nervously smiled as she turned around to him.

"Hey," she choked out, "thanks for that."

Daryl glared to her, and then took in a deep breath before muttering, "go clean up, ya look like shit."

She slightly laughed, but felt offended nonetheless. She decided not to argue thinking that she kind of deserved that for worrying Daryl like that. She looked over to Destanie who was looking around confused, and she took the girls hand. She headed up to the house, and asked Maggie if it would be alright for them to use the shower and she let them.

"I'll let you shower first," Valora smiled to her after she walked into the bathroom, "I'll be right back with a change of clothes for you."

Destanie smiled to her, and then she reacted like she forgot something, "oh, here," she said pulling out the gun Valora gave her, "thought you might want that back."

Valora smiled to the girl, "thanks," she nodded to her before heading down the stairs and outside to where the laundry was hung. She chose the clothing that would most likely fit the girls form. She was a tiny thing, about a size one from her guess. She grabbed her a pair of jeans, and a plain t-shirt. Valora grabbed herself a pair of dark blue jeans, and a plaid long-sleeve shirt. Once she had the clothes she needed she headed back to the house.

Once she was at the bathroom door, she knocked and the door was opened. Destanie was standing there with a towel wrapped around her tiny form. From the looks of it, the girl was on the edge of being considered anorexic. Valora resisted the urge to cover her mouth with her hand, and she smiled handing the girl the clothes.

"Once you change, I can take my shower," Valroa smiled.

"Do you think I can wait in the bathroom for you to finish showering?" Destanie shyly asked, "I'm afraid that- that man will-"

"Sure," she smiled to her, "that'll be fine. Might be a bit awkward, but if you'll feel better."

She nodded her head, "thanks," she said before closing the door. Soon after she opened the door, and Valora walked in. She stepped into the tub, and undressed behind the curtain tossing her clothes over the top. Once she was fully undressed she let the cold water hit her skin, she tensed up and relaxed as the water began to warm up. She made it so that he shower was short, and when she shut the water off she saw a towel hung over the top of the rail.

"Thanks," she said as she pulled the towel down and dried herself off.

Then the clothes she brought for herself were tossed over, and she quickly got dressed. She slid the curtain open and shook the water still on her feet and wiped it on the mat by the tub. She put on a pair of socks, and slid on her combat boots. She smiled to Destanie who was patiently waiting at the door for her. Once she had her shoes on, and her weapons strapped on she opened the door and they headed downstairs.

Once they were downstairs Rick stood in front of the two of them, and Valora raised a brow, "there something wrong?"

"We need to put her in the shed as well," Rick said.

"What are you talking about?" she asked Rick like he was crazy.

"We don't know if we can trust her yet," Rick said his tone harsh.

"But, Rick-" she began but Destanie stepped in front of her stopping her from protesting.

"Stop," she smiled to her, "he's doing the right thing. Though I wouldn't dream of doing something to you guys, but he's just taking a safety precaution."

Valora looked to Rick who had a shocked expression and she slowly nodded, "don't worry, I trust you guys. I know you won't do anything wrong."

"You can trust me," she sighed, and took in a deep breath mustering up the courage to say something, "but I don't think you can fully trust Randall. He was a close friend of mine before this happened, but- he's changed."

"How?" Valora asked out of pure curiosity.

"You'll have to get it out of him," she sighed looking down, "its not my right to tell something a man might not want other people to know."

Valora nodded her head in understanding and she looked up to Rick, "you so much as hurt her-"

"We won't do anything to her," Rick said, "we're just keeping the two of them under safe watch."

She slowly nodded to him, and she watched as his back disappeared out the front door. She looked to the kitchen to see everyone sitting around. She slowly made her way into the kitchen and looked around at the faces of her friends. Andrea was doing better, she looked more determined than she had before. She sat down in the chair next to her son.

She then looked to see Rick making his way back into the house, and he stood at the end of the table. He took in a deep breath before speaking, "we couldn't just leave them behind. He would've bled out, and the girl would have been walker food."

"Its gotten bad in town," Valora spoke up looking around at everyone.

"What do we do with them?" Andrea asked.

Then Hershal walked into the dining room from the kitchen wiping his hands clean probably from the boys blood, "I repaired his calf muscle as best as I can, but he'll probably have nerve damage. Won't be on his feet for at least a week."

"When he is, we give them a canteen, take them out of the main road, and send them on their way," Rick stated simply looking to everyone, but not liking the expression on Valoras face.

"The hell are you talking about?" Valroa asked.

"Isn't that the same as leaving them out for the walkers?" Andrea asked.

"They'll at least have a fighting chance," Rick stated, and Daryl walked inside crossing his arms over his chest as he looked around the room.

"What are we gonna do if their people come looking for 'em?" Shane asked.

"They're not gonna come look for 'em," Rick said, and he slammed his hand on the table, "they left them for dead."

"Just like what you plan on doing with them once Randall is able to get on his feet?" Valora asked her tone cold as she glared at Rick, "a boy who probably won't ever be able to run again, and a girl who is just a tiny little thing. She's barly taller than me, and about a size one. She's on the verge of being anorexic. She won't be able to move around much more without every move being filled with pain. If you leave them out there, they are more than likely to survive not even an hour."

"We're not going to do anything about it today," Rick said, "when the time comes we will have to make a decision."

"On what?" Valroa said standing up, "these are the lives of two people. I know we took out three other men back there, but these people are just kids, Rick," Valroa said now choking up with tears brimming her eyes, "it's just twisted."

Valora looked around the room, and put a hand to her mouth rushing out of the room. She ran as far away as she could, and uncovered her mouth. She kneeled down with one hand on the wall of the house, and the other on the ground. She tried to hold it back, but she couldn't, and she just let it out. She threw up what little she had eaten the day before. She felt someone pulling her hair back, and she just let it out. When she finished she sat back, and looked up to see Daryl standing there looking down to her.

"You okay?" he asked kneeling down to her height.

She slowly nodded her head, "just suddenly felt sick."

"You sure you're okay?" he asked raising an eyebrow, "most o' the time people throw up when the don't feel good. Not just for the fun of it."

She just shrugged her shoulders, and held her head in her hands. She took in a deep breath, and sighed. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to meet Daryls gaze. He grabbed her hands helping her up to her feet, and she just let him pull her up. She leaned into him and then wrapped her arms around his torso. He wrapped his arms around her, and she sighed.

"Daryl," she said, but it was muffled so he pulled away slightly, and she looked up to him and averted her eyes away from him looking to his shirt, "I-I killed a man."

Daryl tensed up, and then pulled her closer to him, "it's okay," he said rubbing the back of her head, "it's okay."

She shakily sighed into his shirt, and buried her face into his chest. She felt all of her worries disappear while he hugged her. She had that feeling of safety again as he held her tightly to him. Once he pulled away he planted a soft kiss on her forehead, and he grabbed her chin as he rested his forehead on hers.

"I don't think any different of you," he whispered to her, "I still love you as much as I did before."

She softly smiled up to him, and whispered, "I love you too."

"Just no kisses right now," he smirked at her, "I don't kiss girls who just threw up."

She giggled and lightly punched his chest, "shut up."


	29. Suicide Baby

It's been a week now. Randall is now able to get up on his feet with little struggle. Rick was talking with Lori saying his goodbyes as he was preparing to leave to drop off Randall and Destanie eighteen miles out. Valora stood there watching as Shane stood at the passengers door to the green Hyundai crossover SUV. He had an angry look on his face as he watched Rick kissing his wife goodbye, and rustling his kids hair.

"Come on," Shane said banging his hand on the top of the car, "let's go, we don't got all day."

Rick kept his hand on his wifes until their fingertips slid from each others. He didn't turn around, and whenhe got in the car he didn't even spare a last glance to them. Valora watched as he turned the car around, and drove out. She watched until the car was out of sight.

"Those kids'll be fine," Daryl said from behind Valroa and he put a hand on her shoulder, "they should be able to take care of themselves."

Valora looked up to him and sighed looking back to where the car had disappeared, "I know that, but they're just kids..."

"C'mon," Daryl said grabbing her hand and taking her back to the house.

Daryl led her up the stairs into the bedroom that Beth was in. As they entered Steven only spared a slight glance up at them before looking back to Beth. The boy looked exhausted. Dark circles caused him to look more tired than he was, and they watched as he struggled to keep his head up. Valora slipped her hand from Daryls and she sat down next to her son, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You should get some sleep," Valora said rubbing her thumb over his shoulder, "I'll watch her."

He slowly moved his head to look at his mother, and slowly nodded his head. She sadly smiled to her son and helped him up, and led him over to Daryl. Daryl put a hand on the boy's shoulder, and she watched as the two of them walked away. She sadly smiled to her son as he turned his head one last time checking on Beth again.

Valora sighed sitting down in the chair Steven was sitting in. She looked to the girl in the bed, and watched as she turned in the bed. She reached a hand out and brushed away a piece of hair that fell into the girls face. She sighed leaning back into her chair.

"You're scaring the hell out of everyone," she whispered, and she watched as Beth's eyes shot open. She sat up and sat up looking at the girl with a motherly smile, "hey, how are you doing?"

She didn't say anything just sat up in the bed, and looked to her hands in her lap. Valora slowly stood up and sat on the bed keeping an eye on the girl. She reached to touch the girls shoulder but she jerked her shoulder out of the way.

"Are you okay?" Valora asked her voice soft.

"M-my mom," the girl choked out, "m-my my mom."

"What about your mom?" she asked as she attempted to touch her shoulder again, this time she didn't jerk it away, and Valora felt her begin to shake.

The girl lifted her hands to her face, and she heard muffled sobs. She wrapped her arms around the girl, and she turned her head to cry on her shoulder. Valora rubbed the back of the girls head and cooed her. She looked up to see Maggie entering the room. She smiled to her, and Maggie returned the smile. Once her cries had quieted down she pulled the girl away from her.

"Your sisters here," she smiled to the girl and stood up slowly, and nodded to Maggie as she walked past her and out the room.

She walked down the stairs and saw Lori in the kitchen making some food, she walked in the kitchen and grabbed a slice of a cucumber and popped it in her mouth, "hey."

"Hi," Lori smiled looking up from what she was cooking, "how's Beth?"

"She's awake," Valora said leaning back on the counter, "she's pretty upset about her mom though."

Lori nodded her head, "poor thing," she sadly smiled up to her, "can only imagine what she's going through."

"Yeah," Valora sighed," she's only sixteen, too."

Lori nodded her head and began putting the food she was making on a tray and Valora asked, "who's that for?"

"Beth," she mumbled out.

"I'll take it to her," Valora smiled pushing herself off the counter and grabbing the tray from her.

Lori nodded her head to her, "thanks."

Valora walked up the stairs and opened the door to her room. She saw that Maggie had left and Beth was lying in the bed on her side. She softly smiled and set the tray on the nightstand next to the bed. Beth had sat up and looked to Valora, and then to the food on the table.

"You should eat," Valora said her tone soft, "after you eat up we can go outside for a walk. Probably make you feel better."

Beth just eyed her, and then looked back to the wall with a sad expression.

"I'll be back in a bit," Valora smiled as she put a hand on her shoulder.

Valora walked out of the room softly closing the door behind her. She walked back down the stairs and into the kitchen where Lori was standing there biting into a piece of chicken that was left over from what they had cooked. She smiled grabbing another slice of cucumber from the plate and took a bite out of it.

"Hows Steven?" Lori asked looking up to her.

"Fine," Valora sighed, and chuckled, "didn't leave her side until I told him that I'd keep an eye on her. I don't think he got any sleep at all either."

"Must be worried sick about her," Lori smiled up to Valora, "you've got a good boy."

"So do you," Valroa smiled to her, "he's a good kid, but.."

"He's getting cold," Lori finished for her sighing knowing how her son was acting towards everyone, "I know this, its because his father isn't, talking to him at all lately. If he talks to him its only for a short moment. I've tried to talk to Rick about maybe having a father son day, nothing else, but he just doesn't listen."

"Rick," Valora started, "he's a good man, he's just worried for the safety of the group."

"But Carl is his son," Lori said putting a hand to her mouth, "he should worry about his family first."

Valora nodded her head, "that should be his first priority, but I guess he trusts the group enough to take care of things while he's away."

"He's an idiot," she shook her head.

"He is," Valora laughed, "but he makes the hardest decisions for the group, and his decisions have gotten us this far."

Lori nodded her head, "I just wish he'd interact with Carl more, I don't want my son growing up treating everyone coldly."

"Like Shane," Valora said looking up to her.

Lori looked at her with a look of shock, and slight anger, "I know about you two, I don't know if Rick does, but if you want things to work out between you and Rick, you should really leave Shane alone. Just stop talking to him overall."

"I-I can't do that though," Lori shook her head.

"Then I can't guarantee that things between you and Rick are going to be okay," Valora sadly said to her, "and your son will grow up treating everyone coldly if you keep it up with Shane."

Lori looked at her with shock and pain written in her face. Valora sadly smiled to her as she pushed herself off the counter. She walked up the stairs to go and check on Beth. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside. She looked to the tray on the nightstand to see the food hadn't even been touched. She sadly smiled and looked up to see Beth sitting up and she was crying.

Valora walked over to the side of the bed and crouched down next to her, "hey," she said softly, "I know what its like."

"It's just so pointless," Beth choked out.

"No," Valora said standing up and sitting on the bed in front of her, "you have Maggie, your dad, Patricia, and Steven. You gotta stay strong for them, honey."

She put a hand on Beths cheek and smiled at her, "I wish I could promise you that it'll be alright in the end, but, we can make now alright," Valora smiled to the girl who had tears brimming in her eyes.

Beth looked up to her and slowly nodded her head, "thank you," was all she managed to say.

Valora stood up and grabbed the tray from the nightstand, "I'll be right back, and we can go take that walk."

As Valora made her way into the kitchen she saw Lori was still standing there thinking about what Valora had said to her earlier. When she snapped out of her thoughts she walked over and took the tray from Valora. She walked over to the sink, and began cleaning off the tray. She turned around looking at Valroa with a questioning look.

"Where's the knife?" was all she had to say, and Valora rushed up the stairs.

When she opened the door this time, she opened it quickly and looked to see Beth lying back in bed. Valora looked on the nightstand, and then around on the floor. She didn't see the knife anywhere and then it hit her. She stood up slowly, feeling disappointed in Beth that she would want to do that.

"Sweetheart, please give me the knife," she softly said.

She watched as the girl moved her arm out from under the covers, and there in her hand was the knife. She took the knife from her hand quickly and made her way down the stairs. She looked to the kitchen to see a worried look on her face. Valora shook her head and handed her the knife.

"She didn't do anything," Valora shook her head again, "we should keep an eye on her though."

"I'll go get Maggie," Lori said as she set the knife down on the counter and rushing to the front door. Valroa stood there as she listened to the front door slam into place. She sighed leaning against the wall. She looked around the room and sighed again as she made her way up the stairs to where Daryl had taken Steven. She slowly opened the door to see Steven in the bed sound asleep. Daryl wasn't in there, and she sadly smiled to her son. She closed the door quietly behind her and made her way back down the stairs.

She looked to see Andrea and Lori in the kitchen, and then the shouting of Maggie and Beth echoed throughout the house. She sadly smiled as she pulled herself up on the counter. She looked around to the two faces watching her.

"Where's Hershal?" Valora asked looking to Andrea and Lori.

"He doesn't want to find out yet," Lori said taking a bite of the food that left from what Beth hadn't eaten, "its a family affair. We'll let them work it out."

"That's working it out?" Andrea said rolling her eyes.

"When Beth stops fighting, that's when its time to worry," Lori said pushing herself away from the counter to clean the table in the center of the room.

"This could have been handled better," Andrea shrugged.

"How so?" Valora asked raising an eyebrow.

"You shouldn't have taken the knife away," Andrea said simply looking up to the shocked faces of Lori and Valora.

"And let her kill herself?" Valora laughed out in shock, "uh, I don't think so."

"She has to choose to live on her own," Andrea said looking to Valora, "she has to find her own reasons."

"Like hell that's a good idea," Valora shouted hopping off the counter, "she has plenty of reasons to live. She has a sister, a father, Patricia, and she has my son who I know cares deeply about that girl."

"If she's serious she can figure out a way," Andrea shook her head.

"Doesn't mean we can't stop her," Lori said her tone angry, "or let her know that we care."

"That has nothing to do with it, Lori," Andrea said like Lori was the stupider one of the two, "she only has so many choices in front of her, and she believes the best it suicide."

"That's not an option," Valora said crossing her arms over her chest as she glared to the idiotic blonde woman.

"Of course it is," Andrea said looking to her, "she doesn't need to be yelled at or treated like a child."

"She needs a loaded gun, right?" Lori said not looking up from the dishes she was cleaning, "I'm sure you'll understand if I don't send you in there."

"I came through it," Andrea said in her 'you're the stupid one' tone.

"And became such a productive member of the group," Lori said, "let Maggie handle this."

"I contribute," Andrea said her tone full of anger.

"By trying to kill us all?" Valora chuckled, "you shot Daryl, held a gun to Rick in Atlanta."

"You did what?" Lori asked.

"That wasn't my fault," Andrea growled, "you guys were shooting up the streets on your way in here."

"We were surrounded by walkers," Valora said slowly, "what the hell were we supposed to do? Throw ourselves at them like we were dinner? I don't think so."

"Look, just because I skip out on doing the laundry and cooking or cleaning, doesn't mean I don't do anything," Andrea said putting a hand on her hip.

"You just get in their way, darling," Valora said leaning back on the counter, "hate to tell you, but its the truth."

Andrea glared at her and crossed her arms over her chest trying to look tough, "like hell I get in the way. I help them, all you guys do is sit around on your asses after you're done cooking and cleaning."

"We do not sit around doing nothing," Lori said.

"Andrea," Valora started and sighed laughing at how stupid the girl was, "they practically work all day. Just putting on a smile in the morning, just so that your kids don't worry is hard enough, to keep it on all day while doing all of this work is even harder. If you ever end up having children in this world, you'll then understand."

Andrea laughed, "I wouldn't be stupid enough to get pregnant in a world like this," she said eyeing Lori.

"Just get out of here," Valroa said standing up straight glaring at Andrea as she turned to leave the room. Valora turned around and sadly smiled to Lori who had a hand over her mouth, "don't listen to her. She's just an idiot."

"She's right," Lori choked out looking up to Valora, "she's right, it's stupid getting pregnant like this."

"That may be true," Valroa sadly sighed, "but not when we have a place like this. Your baby will be safe as long as we're on the farm."

Lori slowly nodded her head, and smiled, "thanks."

"No problem," she smiled, but then heard a noise upstairs. It sounded like glass shattering. She moved out of the kitchen and took off up the stairs. She heard Maggie's panicked voice calling out for her sister. She oped the door to see Maggie banging on the door.

"I heard glass shatter," Valora said, and Maggie nodded her head.

"She's in there," Maggie said her voice dripping with worry, and she went back to trying to open the door, "don't do this Beth. Don't do this. Open up, please."

Maggie pulled away from a door muttering, "I left her with Andrea," she said looking through the drawers.

Valora's mouth slightly opened, "where's a key?"

"I don't know," Maggie shouted in a panic.

Valora looked around the room as Maggie went back to trying to open the door. Her eyes landed on a metal bar that she could use to pry the door open. She grabbed the bar and got Maggie out of the way and opened the door. She looked inside to see Beth standing in front of a shattered mirror crying. She slowly turned around with a hand on one wrist that was gushing blood.

"I'm sorry," she cried, and the two of them rushed to her side leading her to the bed.

Valora stood there holding pressure on the wound as Maggie went to go get the supplies to treat the wound. When Maggie got back Valora just did what she was told. In no time Beth was fixed up enough to wait for Hershal to get back so he could stitch her up. Valora sighed wiping her forehead getting blood on her head. She looked up to Maggie who was shaking her head looking down to her sister.

"At least she knows now," Valora smiled to her and she looked up nodding her head slowly.

Valora walked around the bed and stopped next to Maggie. She put her hand on her shoulder and Maggie turned around and Valroa pulled her into a hug. She smiled as Maggie cried into her shirt.

"It's okay," Valora sighed hugging Maggie, "she's going to be okay now."

Maggie nodded her head and turned around looking to her sister, "I know, its just scary knowing that she thought like that. Wanted to take her own life like that."

"I know what its like," Valora sighed, "had a friend in highschool who was an outcast like me, wanted to kill herself, but she wasn't lucky enough to make it out okay."

Maggie covered her mouth with her hand, "I-I'm so sorry."

"Its okay," she sighed, "just make sure that she has someone keeping an eye on her for a while."

Maggie nodded her head and looked back to her sister. Valora sadly smiled and turned to leave. She walked to the hallway restroom and went to wash her hands. When she looked into the mirror she saw the blood that had smeared on her forehead, and she brought a damp towel to her face and washed it off. She sighed as she looked back up to the mirror. She smiled to herself before tossing the towel into the sink and walking out. She made her way down the stairs and walked outside to see Maggie on the stairs with Lori behind her.

"I heard. Is she alright?" Andrea asked out of breath as she looked up to Lori and Valora.

"She would be if you had stayed with her," Maggie spat at her, "where were you?"

"How bad is she?" Andrea asked avoiding her question.

"It wasn't deep," Maggie said averting her gaze from Andrea.

Andrea shook her head and looked to the ground, "she made her decision. She wants to live."

"She tried to kill herself," Maggie said to the stupid blonde woman.

"No, she didn't," Andrea said.

"My father is stitching her wrist right now," Maggie shouted at her.

"She'll live," Andrea nodded her head and tried to walk around Maggie but Maggie moved so she couldn't get past.

"Stay away from her," Maggie growled at her, "from both of us. Don't you dare step foot inside this house again."

Andrea looked up to Valroa and Lori for help out of this one, but neither of them subsided. Valora lifted a hand to her face, and scratched her nose with her middle finger. She watched as Andrea glared at her, and she stomped off. She smirked to herself, and watched as Maggie walked up the stairs and was stopped by Lori.

"I'm not gonna say she was right," Lori said holding her hand out to try and keep Maggie from getting angrier, "but Beth has made her choice. She wants to live, and now she knows it. And sometimes you have to cross the line."

Maggie nodded her head, "I know, I just don't like hearing it from her."

Valroa smirked at her remark, and watched as the two women disappeared into the house. She looked out to the camp and saw T-dog and Morgan talking to each other. She smiled and decided to go and drop in a day hello. As she made her way over she saw Carol and Jacqui sitting with the kids, as Jenner sat across from them holding up something. She nodded to Morgan and T-dog as she walked by, and made her way over to Jenner and the kids.

"Hey," she smiled as she sat down next to Melanie, "what you guys doing?"

"Jenner's just teaching them some vocabulary words," Carol smiled as she rubbed her daughters arm, "they're all doing really good. They have a test tomorrow over them."

"Don't remind me," Carl groaned as he rested his head in his hands, causing everyone to smirk.

"How are things with T-dog?" Valora smirked to Jacqui who grinned big.

"Oh, things are going good," she smiled to Valora causing the both of them to laugh.

"My daddy and T-dog are getting along," Duane said from Jacqui's side, "they haven't stopped talking for a long time."

"Its good to hear that T-dog's made a friend," Valroa smiled to the kid.

She suddenly felt herself feeling nauseous, and stood up, "I'll be right back," she quickly said and rushed to get as far away as she could. She rushed behind a tree and fell to her knees and threw up. She groaned and wiped her mouth and she leaned against the tree. She was startled when Jacqui came around the corner.

"Everything alright?" she asked squatting down, "you feeling sick or something?"

"Just suddenly felt nauseous," she groaned, "here we go again," she mumbled and moved so that she wouldn't throw up on herself. Jacqui pulled back her hair as she threw up on the ground. When she finished throwing up the rest of the contents in her stomach she slowly stood up and Jacqui helped her to stand.

"You feeling alright?" Jacqui asked putting a hand on her forehead, "you don't have a temperature."

"Must have been something I ate then," Valroa said holding the back of her wrist to her mouth, "been happening to me for the past week. I guess my stomach just doesn't like the chicken"

Jacqui nodded her head and then looked to Valora with wide eyes, "could you be pregnant?"

Valora chuckled, "nonsense, Daryl and I have-" she then stopped covering her mouth with her hand. "You gonna be sick again?" she asked in a worried tone.

"No," Valora choked out after swallowing hard, "back at the CDC, Daryl and I- we- we didn't use protection."

Jacqui nodded her head, "then we need to send someone into town," Jacqui simply stated, "c'mon we'll go get Glenn."

"I can't let everyone know about it though," she whispered, "especially Daryl, what'll he do if he finds out that I'm pregnant?"

"I don't know," she shook her head and spoke in a hushed tone, "but we need to find out so that we know if you need to eat more. You're already too skinny, you'll need to eat a lot more if you're going to be carrying another one with you."

Valora looked down to herself, "yeah, to think I was a size nine when all of this started," she laughed, "now I'm a size three in only a month and a half."

"Let's go find Glenn," she quickly said, "you can go into town with him. I'll cover for you."

"Thank you Jacqui," she smiled to her.

Jacqui nodded to her and they made their way over to the RV where Glenn was keeping watch on top of the RV, "hey Glenn, we need to make another run into town," Valora said.

Glenn made his way down the ladder, "Lori need something else?"

"No, this time, its for me," Valora smiled to him and he nodded his head.

"Let's take someone else along," Glenn said, "wait, nevermind. We want to get in and out. Let's just take one horse this time."

"Okay," Valora nodded her head.

"Let's take another way there," Glenn said as the two of them walked over to the stables, "don't want to have Randalls group knowing that you're still alive after that."

"Yeah," she nodded her head swallowing back her fears, "that would be bad."

Valora and Glenn were up on the horse, and they were now making their way to the town. The town that Valroa had killed someone in. She didn't think about that until they were stopped in the front of the Pharmacy that was right across the street from the bar. She gulped back her fears and hopped off the horse.

"I'll go in," Valora said, "you stay with the horse. If anyone comes you leave, you hear me?"

"No man left behind," Glenn said down to her, and she smiled up at him.

She walked into the pharmacy and made her way to the feminine hygiene section. One box. There was one pregnancy test left in the whole store. She held the box in her hands and took in a deep breath fighting back the tears. She looked out the front window to see Glenn looking around for any sign of trouble. She took in another deep breath as she shoved the box into her pack. She made her way outside and hopped back up onto the horse with Glenns help.

"So what was it that you needed today?" Glenn asked getting the horse to back up so they could turn and head back.

"Pregnancy test," she said in a quiet voice.

"Well," Glenn choked out, "congrats."

She softly smiled, "thanks."

"You got enough of those Vitamins for both you and Lori?" he asked trying to make conversation.

"There should be enough to last us," she smiled at how he was trying to make the situation less awkward, "I just hope that we'll be able to raise two babies in a world like this."

She saw Glenn nodding his head, and she heard him swallow hard, "you going to keep yours? I mean if you are-"

"I will," she sighed, "I wouldn't kill a baby without at least giving it a chance in this world."

Glenn nodded his head, "hey, maybe if we are sure that the farm is safe enough," Glenn smiled to himself, "Maggie and I could have our own little ones."

"I'm sure that you'll be able to eventually," she smiled patting him on the back, "you'd make a great dad Glenn."

She heard him chuckle as he got the horse to go faster, "bullshit."

She laughed as he looked around her watching as they passed by the trees, and watching as the lone walkers roamed the fields. She sadly smiled as she thought about their lives in the future. She thought about what would happen if the farm was overrun, or if the disease all of a sudden disappeared. The thought of the disease just up and going away was like a dream. Maybe if they had a group big enough they could take out all of the walkers in the world. She laughed at the thought of that.

Before she knew it they were back at the farm, and Rick and Shane were just now returning. She hopped off the horse as they passed the camp, and waved to Glenn and waved to him as he led the horse to the stables. She sighed as she looked around the camp. Everyone was going on with their day, and hers seemed to stop. She walked over to the house and went up the stairs. She slipped into the bathroom when nobody was looking and she pulled her pack off her back and opened it up and pulled out the pregnancy test.

She sat on the toilet looking at the small device in her hands. She took in a deep breath as she looked to the test to her shaking hand. She clenched her fist and sighed standing up and pulling her pants down. After she urinated on the test she set it on the counter and pulled her pants back up. She closed the toilet lid and sat there with her head in her hands.

She sighed looking up, and closed her eyes as she grabbed the test in her hands. She slowly opened her eyes and covered her mouth with her hand. She let tears slip out of her eyes as she stared at the device with fear. Two pink lines. Those two pink lines was what scared her. She dropped the test and stood up and moved in front of the mirror. She pulled up her shirt and put a hand to her stomach. She smiled as she rubbed her stomach looking to herself in the mirror.

"Don't worry," she whispered to herself, "mom's gonna take care of you."

She sighed pushing her shirt back down, and grabbed the test and trashed it. She opened the door and took in a deep breath walking down the stairs. When she walked down the stairs she walked outside and into the campsite. Her eyes landed on Jacqui who had just noticed her. Jacqui rushed to her side, and walked her over to her's and T-dogs tent. Her hands rested on Valoras shoulders and she looked at her with an expectant look.

"Well?" she smiled.

"I'm pregnant," she smiled and Jacqui pulled her into a hug, which cause tears to fall down her cheeks, "I'm so scared Jacqui, I-I don't know what to do.. I-I-"

"Sh," Jacqui rubbed the back of her head, "everything's going to be okay. We've got a safe haven right now."

"How do I tell Daryl?" Valora said covering her mouth as she pulled away from Jacqui, "what'll he say? What if he doesn't want the baby? What'll I do?"

"Trust me," Jacqui smiled to her, "Daryl won't leave you. He won't tell you he doesn't want the baby, I'm pretty sure he'll have to go have some alone time at first, but he'll get through it."

Valora slowly nodded her head, and smiled to the woman, "thanks," she smiled pulling the woman into a hug.

"Now I think Glenn might want to know about this," Jacqui smiled putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure that he might want to know."

She laughed, "I doubt it, but I need to get the word out eventually. I'll just wait for the right moment."

Jacqui nodded her head in understanding and shook her head chuckling, "hope it's soon. I don't want you getting into anything crazy. If you even try to I'll let your little secret get out."

"What secret?" T-dog asked entering the tent with a smirk on his face, "there something I should know about."

"Just giving some tips to Jacqui," she smirked back to the woman, "you should really try that next time."

Jacqui laughed, "I'll make sure to do so."

Valroa nodded to T-dog as she walked out and laughed as she heard him ask, "what are these tips she talking about?"

She looked around the camp and sighed. Her eyes landed on Daryl who was making his way to the camp from the forest. She sighed as she walked over to him, prepared to tell him. But once she got to him, she chickened out. She wanted to tell him, but she feared the worse.

"Hey," she nervously smiled rubbing the back of her neck.

Daryl looked to her and nodded his head, "sup," he said and he pulled his crossbow off his back and set it down on the ground next to where he sat down.

"Where'd you go?" she asked trying to make herself not feel awkward around him.

"Hunting," Daryl sighed, "didn't find anything. Got anymore smokes?"

"Yeah," Valroa said and she pulled her pack off her back, "take all of 'em. I'm trying to quit."

"Why's that?" Daryl asked raising an eyebrow to her.

"For Lori," she quickly said, "her being pregnant and all, thought if I was going to be around her a lot might as well start quitting."

"You can have one now," he shrugged his shoulders, "don't see Lori around."

"Yeah, but the smell sticks to your clothes," she softly smiled sitting down next to him, "I gotta get back to the house and check on Steven."

"Why in such a rush?" he asked now getting more curious as to why she came over and was so quick to leave.

"Uh, crossed my mind that Steven was still at the house," she stuttered, "I really should go check on him."

"There somthing you need to tell me?" he asked standing up in front of her.

"N-no, nothing," she said as she backed up, "see you later," she waved to him as she rushed to the house.

"The hell was that 'bout?" Daryl asked himself sitting back down on the log.


	30. Inhumane

As Valora made her way up to the house she took in a deep breath to calm herself. She held a hand to the back of her neck scratching at the itch that has been bugging her for a while. She gave up on satisfying the itch after she walked into the house. She opened the screen door and stepped inside making her way to the stairs. She walked up the stairs and walked over to the bedroom that she had last seen Steven in. She opened the door to see Steven sitting up in the bed and looking to the door.

"Hey mom," he said with a sleepy voice, "what's up?"

"A lot of things," she sighed closing the door behind her and sitting in the chair next to the bed, and she held her head in her hands, "can you keep a secret?"

"Depends on the secret," he raised an eyebrow, "what's going on?"

Valroa took in a deep breath and sighed smiling up at him, "how would you like to be a big brother?"

Steven stared at her with his mouth agape with his eyes wide. She nervously smiled laughing to herself as she rubbed the back of her neck. She sighed looking back up to her son.

"So," she said feeling the atmosphere getting more awkward.

"You're pregnant?" Steven shouted in a whisper, "how far in are you?"

"I'd say three weeks," she shrugged her shoulder, "only time was at the CDC when we didn't use protection."

Steven nodded his head, "ew, but I'm happy for you guys. Can't wait to be a big brother!"

"Sh," Valroa shushed him, "I don't want everyone to know yet. Otherwise it defeats the purpose of it being a secret."

He laughed nodding his head, "okay mom. Who else knows?"

"Jacqui, you, and Glenn knows about me getting the test, but he doesn't know that I am," she sighed sitting back in her chair, "who knew having another kid would be this stressful."

"Hey, not my fault that the two of you couldn't wait and forgot about protection," Steven laughed then shivered, "ew, I'm not supposed to joke with my mom about these things. It's- not normal."

Valora chuckled, "you might want to go check on Beth," Valroa sadly smiled putting a hand on his shoulder, "she's had a rough day."

"And you didn't wake me up!?" he shouted to her throwing the comforters off of himself and headed straight for Beth's room.

Valora followed behind him quickly and stopped at the doorway as she saw Steven stop right next to her bed. He kneeled down and grabbed Beth's hand, and looked to the bandages on her wrist. She looked away from him in embarrassment, and Steven looked at her with shock on his face.

"Why would you," he started but stopped mid sentence.

"I'm sorry," Beth choked out with tears in her eyes, "I'm so sorry."

Steven pushed off his knee on the ground and sat on the bed next to her pulling her into a loving embrace, "no, no, no. Don't be, it's going to be okay now," Steven said in a hushed tone, "its going to be okay. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Valroa smiled as she quietly closed the door behind her giving the two of them some privacy. She quietly made her way down the stairs and into the living room where Hershal was having dinner with Maggie, Jimmy, and Patricia. She smiled to them when she was making her way to the front door but she was stopped.

"Why don't you come have dinner with us?" Maggie suggested.

Valora turned around and looked to Maggie, "I don't think I should," she said, "everyone's probably wondering where I am."

"Sweetie," Patricia said standing up, "do you think Glenn wouldn't tell Maggie about it?"

Valora looked to her in shock, and then looked to Maggie who slowly nodded her head with a nervous smile making its way on her face. Valora smiled to them and walked over to the table sitting down with them. She smiled to Hershal who was nodding to her and then to Jimmy who was friendly smiling at her.

Patricia passed her a plate of food, and she nodded to her in thanks. She slowly ate at first not wanting to seem greedy, but she was starved. She had thrown up the last of what she had eaten in the day not too long ago. She tried not to make eye contact with the family but failed when she looked up to Maggie and they locked eyes. She smiled to her as Maggie smiled back at her with a devilish grin.

"So," she smiled even bigger, "when's the daddy gonna find out?"

Valora smirked, "I don't know," she sighed, "but I hope it's soon, and that he doesn't hate me for it."

"Partly his fault as well," Maggie said, "if it weren't for him, you wouldn't be pregnant."

Valora chuckled, "I guess you could look at it that way."

After their little conversation they finished up dinner, and Valora thanked them more than needed on her way out. She waved to them as she walked down the steps, and turned around heading back to camp. She walked up to the camp and saw Daryls tent. She took in a deep breath walking into the tent, and she looked to see Daryl laying on his cot with an arm behind his head and the other drumming a beat on his stomach. She smiled to him as she took her pack off, and unstrapped her gun and knife and kicked them under the cot.

She sighed as she sat down on the cot and rubbed at her back. Daryl sat up behind her and put a hand on the one she had on her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Daryl asked.

"My back aches," she groaned, "just suddenly. Probably from getting on and off that horse so many times."

"Here," Daryl said adjusting himself so he was right behind her, and he began massaging her back. She slumped forward as she felt his strong hands massage her sore back. After she told him it felt better she leaned into him. She sighed and looked up to him with a soft smile on her lips.

"I love you," she smiled at him, and he turned her around so she was facing him. He grabbed her chin softly and planted a kiss on her lips. She smiled into the kiss knowing that he meant he loved her too. Once he pulled away from the kiss the two of them laid down and Valora smiled up to him before burying herself in his chest, dozing off into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Valora and Daryl woke up the next morning when they heard their tent being unzipped. Valora sat up quickly with Daryl pulling her close to him. They looked to see Rick standing there holding his hands up indicating that he wasn't a threat. Daryl still held onto Valora tightly as Rick spoke out.

"Daryl, can I talk to you?" Rick asked from outside of the tent.

"Sure," Daryl shrugged getting up and out of the cot. He slipped his shoes on and went out of the tent. Valroa groaned knowing that she was going to have to get up now. She huffed throwing her legs over the side of the cot and slipping on her shoes. She grabbed her pack and her knife and gun out from under the bed. She unzipped her pack making sure that Daryl wasn't around anymore and pulled out the prenatal vitamins. She took out one and popped it in her mouth and chewed.

She threw the bottle back in the bag and swung it over her shoulder. She stood up and stepped out of the tent. Once she was outside she looked over to Jacqui who was just now leaving her tent, and then her attention went to Jenner and Carol who were standing over by her tent. Valora smirked at the two of them, and made her way over to where the kids were sitting around the campfire, which would pretty much be the camps living room.

"What're you guys up to?" Valora asked sitting down behind Carl and Sophia looking at the pictures they were drawing.

"We're just coloring," Sophia smiled up to Valora.

"That's a really good picture," Valroa smiled pointing to her drawing of her and her mom holding hands.

"Thanks," she shyly smiled down at her drawing.

She then looked to Carl's who was drawing himself with a gun, and he was shooting the walkers, "what are you drawing Carl?"

"I'm keeping the camp safe," Carl said with no emotion, "it's what really matters right now."

Valroa nodded her head, "you guys have fun," she smiled ruffling their hair as she stood up and left.

She made her way over to where Jacqui was sitting with T-dog and Morgan. She smiled at them before sitting down on the bench setting her pack on the ground. She sighed rubbing at her shoulder.

"How you doing?" Jacqui asked rubbing her shoulder.

"Seen better days," she sighed and smiled up to Morgan and T-dog.

"Jacqui told me," T-dog said and Valora looked to see Jacqui glaring at him, "congrats."

"Thanks," she smiled.

"What happened?" Morgan asked.

"Well, she's got a little bun in the oven," Jacqui nodded to her, and Morgan's eyes widened and then he smiled.

"Congratulations," he nodded to her and she smiled.

"Thanks," she smiled, "but I'm already getting back aches. It sucks, plus the vomiting. I don't think I can take it."

"Don't worry, we got you covered," Jacqui said rubbing her back, "have you told him yet?"

"No," she breathed out setting her head in her hands, "that's something I need to get done, soon."

"Yeah," Jacqui said, "the longer you wait the more likely it is that he'll get mad about it."

Valroa groaned banging her head on the table, "you'd think this'd be easy."

"Don't worry, it'll be okay," Jacqui said still rubbing her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"So, I'm guessing that you are," Valora looked up to see Glenn standing by her side of the table with his arms over his chest as he warmly smiled down at her.

"Bingo," she smiled before she went back to resting her head on the table.

"Need me to run into town for anything?" he asked shifting his weight to his other foot.

"No," Valora breathed out, "but a chocolate bar sounds really good right now."

She heard everyone around her laugh at her comment and she groaned, "I'm not kidding. I'd kill for one right now."

"I'll run into town, see if there is any," Glenn smirked, "might be melted though."

"We could have like a chocolate fondue then," she smiled sitting back up, "that sounds even better, but that's just something about being pregnant. You crave things, but you end up throwing them up later."

"So, you need me to go and get you chocolate or, no?" Glenn asked squinting his eyes as he looked out.

"Nah, I don't want you to get in trouble over me craving chocolate," Valora waved her hand to him, "but thanks Glenn."

"No problem," he smiled down at her before be turned to walk away, "congrats," he said over his shoulder.

She smiled to him and looked back to Morgan, T-dog, and Jacqui, "you guys best friends now or something?"

"He's good friends with Steven," Valora smiled, "hey, with what the world is coming to, he could be related to me soon. With Steven dating Beth, and him getting together with Maggie."

They all nodded their heads understanding where she was coming from, "yeah," Jacqui said, "makes sense."

Valroa looked out to the field, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Daryl making his way over to her. She stood up slowly grabbing her pack meeting him halfway. Once she was close enough to see him she could see his face was full of anger and rage. Daryl was now next to her, and he forcefully grabbed her wrist and began to drag her behind him.

"Daryl?" she asked from behind him ignoring the slight pain from him holding onto her wrist a little too tight, "Daryl, what's wrong?"

Daryl tugged her behind him until they were at their tent and once they were inside Valroa looked to his hands that were all bloodied up, "oh my god," she said grabbing his hand, "what happened to you?"

He pulled his hand away from hers and grabbed onto her arms making her look into his eyes, "I don't want you going anywhere near Randall. You hear me?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked looking up at him with confusion in her face.

"He's not the guy he seems to be," Daryl growled, "he's a sick bastard."

"Is that where this is from?" she asked looking at him hand, "did Rick have you do that to him?"

"No," Daryl said, "he wouldn't talk, so we had to result to this."

Valroa shook her head, "is he alive?"

"Yes," Daryl growled, "wish the bastard was dead though."

"Daryl!" Valora shouted snapping him out of his anger filled thoughts, "it's not right to think like that. No matter how sick and twisted he may be, he's a human being. He shouldn't die for whatever the hell he's done."

"What if what he's done was rape girls in front of their own father?" Daryl asked his anger coming back.

Valora gasped putting a hand to her mouth, "what?" was all she could manage to say.

"Yeah," Daryl grunted sitting down on his cot, "had to hit him to get it out of him. Destanie even said that he did that. He denied that he did so though."

"Oh my god," she said keeping her hand over her mouth as she thought about how terrible that must have been for the father for not being able to do anything to save his daughters.

"Like I told you," Daryl breathed out, "the bastard needs to die. He's not safe here."

"What about Destanie?" she asked pulling herself back together, "what are you going to do with her?"

"It's up to Rick on what happens to the both of them," Daryl shrugged, "I don't know what he wants to do with either of them. We don't know if either of them are safe to be around, she could be as dangerous as Randall and their group they were with."

"No, shes not," Valora shook her head, "I trusted her with my gun back at the town. She didn't kill any of us, just took out the walkers."

"She was probably just looking for a way out of there," Daryl said up to her, "you were their only way out of that town."

Valora shook her head sitting down next to him, "that can't be true. She's not like that group of people."

"I gotta go fill Rick in on this," Daryl said standing up, "he'll wanna know about this."

Valroa sighed standing back up and following him out of the tent, "I have something I need to tell you."

"Can it wait?" he asked over his shoulder.

Valora took in a deep breath wanting to say no, but she said, "yeah. It can wait."

He nodded to her over his shoulder and kept walking until he came up to Rick, "they got a gang, thirty men. They got a heavy artillery and they ain't lookin to make friends. They roll through here, our boys are dead. And our women- they're gonna, they're gonna wish they were."

"What did you do?" Carol asked noticing the blood on his hands.

"Had a little chat," Daryl said avoiding everyone's gaze.

"No one goes near these people," Rick said his voice strong.

"Rick, what are we gonna do?" Lori asked walking over to him from where she was sitting by the fire cooking breakfast.

"We have no choice, they're a threat," Rick said his voice a lot softer, "we have to eliminate the threat."

"You're just gonna kill him?" Dale asked like the man was crazy, but it made sense.

"It's settled," Rick said ending the conversation, "I'll do it today."

Rick turned around to walk away and Dale followed him. Valora sadly smiled to the old man as she watched him try to convince Rick to let the two of them live. She sighed looking back to the scared faces of the campers and looked to Daryl who was standing in front of her. She watched as he turned around to face her.

"You needed to tell me something right?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she sighed and turned around to go back to their tent where they'd have more privacy.

She stood in the tent waiting for Daryl to walk in the tent. Once she heard his feet hit the floor of the tent, she slowly turned around. She smiled up at him nervously, and took in a deep breath.

"Look, Daryl," she started, "I-I I, um, how do I say this..."

"What is it?" he asked getting a little impatient.

"Well," she swallowed the growing lump in her throat, and took in a deep breath before whispering, "I'm pregnant."

"What was that?" Daryl asked really not hearing her.

She took in another deep breath and said a little louder, "I'm pregnant," and this time he heard her.  
Daryl stood there taking in what she had just said. Valora stood there keeping her eyes on the ground, and trying to keep her breathing normal. She looked up only for a second, and when she did she saw Daryl leaving the tent. She watched as he angrily stepped out of the tent making his way to god knows where. She took in a deep breath before sitting down on the cot. She heard movement beside the tent, and she looked up to see Jacqui out of breath at the front of the tent.

Valora looked up to her with tears in her eyes and Jacqui rushed to her side. Jacqui sat on the cot next to her and wrapped her arms around her. Valora tried to hold back her tears, but they fell. She cried into Jacquis shirt and tried to keep her cries quiet so no one would hear them. She hugged Jacqui tightly as she cried onto her shoulder, and Jacqui rubbed her back trying her best to comfort her.

"C'mon," Jacqui said standing up after Valora's cries had subsided, "let's go get you something to eat."

Valora nodded her head and sighed, "I'll be there in a minute."

Jacqui looked to the heartbroken woman and sadly smiled. She left the tent, and headed over to the fire. Valora shakily sighed as she looked to her hands in her lap. She was about to stand up, but then looked to the front of the tent where Daryl was standing. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Daryl walked in and set a plate down on her lap as he sat next to her, "you need to eat," he said looking at her.

Valroa laughed a little before she ate the food Daryl had brought for her, "is that your way of saying that you want the baby?" she asked.

Daryl was quiet for a bit before Valora was turned around and her lips were consumed by Daryls. She smiled into the kiss as she let a tear slip out. Daryl pulled away and looked to her eyes.

"Don't worry," Valora smiled, "I'm not crying 'cause I'm sad."

Daryl nodded before crashing his lips onto hers one more time, "now eat," he said wrapping an arm around her waist.

Valora smiled to herself as she ate her food, and leaned into Daryl. After she finished eating Daryl helped her up, and she smiled up to him. He was acting like such a gentleman. They walked out of their tent with Daryls hand on her waist as they made their way over to the fire where everyone was sitting around. Daryl sat down next to Valroa as they sat on a log.

"How's everyone?" Valora asked breaking the silence.

"Tired," Steven yawned walking up to the group stretching as he made his way to a chair, "didn't get much sleep 'cause I was worried about Beth."

Valora nodded to him and then she looked over to Jacqui who looked totally confused, "what's going on?" she mouthed to her.

Valroa smiled and Jacqui shook her head going back to eating her share of breakfast. Everyone sat in silence as they ate their breakfast. The only noise to be heard was the clinking of forks hitting plates. Valroa looked around the camp and smiled as her eyes landed on the two little kids running around with Morgan, Sophia, and Carl running around with them. She sighed leaning into Daryl who was just sitting there eating the scrambled eggs that Lori had passed to him.

Daryl set the fork on his plate and set it on the ground by his feet, and he stood up, "Imma go hunting," he said looking down to Valroa, "won't be long."

"Promise?" she asked up to him, and he nodded his head, "come back safe."

He nodded to her before heading back to their tent and getting his crossbow. She watched as his back disappeared into the forest. She smiled in his direction before looking back to the group. Jacqui stood up and went and sat next to her.

"What happened?" she asked totally confused at the situation, "first you were crying because he walked out and left you, and now... what's going on?"

"Just Daryl's way of showing he cares I guess," she shrugged, "he was just going and getting me some food when he left. He probably thought I'd know that."

"Strange man you got on your hands," she laughed.

Valora chuckled and nodded her head, "yeah, but I can't help loving him,"

Jacqui laughed putting a hand on her shoulder, and whispered "same with me, but I love T-dog."

Valora smiled whispering back to her, "hope you two last. Hey, maybe we can go on a double date sometime."

"In Paris," she sighed, "that would be nice."

"I'd say," Valora put a finger to her mouth thinking about it for a second, "Canada."

Jacqui laughed, "why Canada?"

"Canadian Bacon of course," Valora smiled big getting a chuckle of laughter from Jacqui, "damn cravings."

"Canada it is then," Jacqui smiled patting the girls shoulder, "well, I gotta go help Lori with the laundry, if you'll excuse me."

"See ya later," Valroa smiled waving to her as she walked away.

Valora stood up grabbing the dishes everyone had left next to the small fire they had made. She walked over to where they washed dishes and sat down in front of the large bucket of water. She began to wash the dishes. She heard footsteps behind her and she looked back to see Dale approaching her.

"Hey," she smiled turning back to the dishes, "what's up?"

"I need to ask a favor of you," Dale said.

"This about Randall and Destanie?" she sadly smiled up to the man who slowly nodded.

"Yes," Dale said, "I want you to side-"

"I'm already on your side Dale," she smiled up to him, "I know it's wrong that they want to kill them. They haven't even given them the chance to prove themselves."

"Someone with some sense of humanity," Dale said louder than needed as he held a hand out gesturing to her, "thank you so much."

"I was already against this whole killing them," Valora shook her head, "it's just wrong, even if the boy did those kind of things."

Dale nodded his head, "it was probably just him being associated with them, and was forced to do those horrific things."

Valora nodded her head, "I just want to know how Destanie got by in that kind of group without anything happening to her."

"Me too," Dale said looking over to the shed that Andrea was watching, "thank you again, Valora."

"Anytime Dale," she smiled up at him, and he nodded to her one last time before walking off.

Valora sighed going back to washing the dishes. Once she was done washing them she stood up wiping her hands on her jeans. She looked down to her stomach and put a hand on it. She smiled to herself and looked up to see Lori standing there with an awestruck look. Valora smiled up to her.

"I am too," she said answering Lori's unspoken question.

"Who knows about it?" she asked.

"Jacqui, Morgan, Steven, T-dog, Daryl, and Glenn," she smiled, "now you do as well."

"Congratulations, "she said shaking the shock off her face.

"Same to you," she smiled to her as she walked by to go back to the camp.

It was now around dusk and everyone was making their way to the house. Valora was walking up to the house with Daryl at her side. He had gotten back not too long ago and he was iffy on letting Randall and Destanie live.

"I'm not letting those two die," Valroa said looking up to the house not looking to Daryl next to her.

"They're not safe Val," Daryl said his tone harsh.

"How do you know that?" Valora asked looking up to him from the corner of her eye, "all you know is what Randall told you after you beat the shit out of the kid. I'm sure he's just as much human as the rest of us. We just need to give them a chance."

Daryl shook his head, "you're fuckin crazy," he shook his head.

Valora sighed as she made her way into the house. Her and Daryl stood next to where Rick was standing and Valora looked around the room full of anxious people. She swallowed back the nervousness in her throat. She looked to Steven who was looking up the stairs probably worrying about Beth.

"So do we just take a vote?" Glenn asked shrugging his shoulders.

"Does it have to unanimous?" Andrea asked lifting a hand.

"How about majority rules?" Lori asked looking to Rick.

"Well let's- let's just see where everybody stands," Rick said standing and talking out to everyone, "then we can talk through the options."

"Well, where I sit," Shane said his hand on his hip, "there's only one way to move forward."

"Killing them," Dale said looking to the man, "right? I mean why even bother taking a vote? I mean it's clear which way the wind is blowing."

"Well, if people believe we should spare them," Rick said resting his hands on the back of the couch, "I wanna know."

"Well, I can tell you it's a small group," Dale said looking over to Valora who nodded her head, and sadly smiled to him, "maybe just me, Valora, and Glenn."

Dale looked to Glenn who nervously looked to the floor, not wanting to make eye contact with the man he had just betrayed, "look, I- I think you're pretty much right about everything, all the time, but this-"

"They've got you scared," Dale said to him.

"They're not one of us," Glenn said gesturing his hand towards Randall and Destanie, "and we've- we've lost too many people already."

"How about you, do you agree with this?" Dale said with his hat in his hand as he pointed to Maggie.

"Couldn't we continue keeping them prisoner?" Maggie asked.

Daryl spoke up, "just two more mouths to feed."

"It may be a lean winter," Hershal spoke out, "and we have a pregnant woman."

"Make that two," Daryl said from Valora's side, and everyone looked to the two.

"I still think it's wrong," Valroa said, "they're human beings."

"We could have them do work, he could be an asset," Dale suggested.

"Put 'em to work," Glenn said trying to help Dale out.

"We're not letting them walk around," Rick said making it clear to everyone.

"We could put an escort on them," Maggie suggested.

"Who wants to volunteer for that duty?" Shane asked.

"I will," Valroa said but Daryl pulled her back, but she pulled her arm out of his grasp, "if that's what it takes to keep those two alive I will."

"Me too," Dale said.

"I don't think any of us should be walking around with these two," Rick said holding his hand up, and he looked to Valroa, "least of all you."

"He's right," Lori said from behind him, "I-I wouldn't feel safe unless those two are tied up."

"Well you can't exactly put chains around their ankles, sentence them to hard labor," Andrea said to the group.

"Look, say if we let 'em join us, right? Maybe they're helpful. Maybe they're nice," Shane said with his thumbs in his belt as he leaned on the wall, "we let our guard down and maybe they run off, brings back their thirty men."

"So the answer is to kill them," Dale said in disbelief, "to prevent a crime that they may never ever attempt? If we do this we're saying there's no hope. Rule of law if dead. There is no civilization."

"He's right," Valora said her voice strained as she fought back the mixed emotions she was feeling.

"Could you drive them further out? Like you had planned?" Hershal asked looking up to Rick.

"You barely came back this time," Lori shook her head not wanting that to happen again, "there are walkers. You could break down. Y-you could get lost."

"Or get ambushed," Daryl commented.

"They're right," Glenn said lifting a hand up and let it drop back down on his leg, "we should not put our own people at risk."

"If you go through with it," Patricia started, "how would you do it? Would they suffer?"

"We could hang 'em, right?" Shane said looking to Rick, and that caused Valora's stomach to turn, "just snap their neck."

"I thought about that," Rick said looking from Shane to out the window, "shooting may be more humane."

"Humane?" Valora laughed from behind Rick, "what the hell is humane about killing a human being?"

"You guys are talking about this like it's already decided?" Dale shouted not wanting the conversation to go on.

"You've been talking all day," Daryl said from behind Valora, "goin around in circles. You just wanna go around in circles again?"

"These are young peoples lives," Dale said to everyone like they were crazy, "and they're worth more than a five-minute conversation!"

"Is this what its come to?" Valroa asked a hand over her mouth as she fought back her tears, "we kill people because we just can't decide what else to do with them? We saved them, and now we're just going to kill 'em off like it was nothing? It's- it's just inhumane, no matter what way you go of killing them."

"Look, it's what needs to be done," Shane said looking to Valora.

"No, she's right," Rick said looking from Valroa to Shane, "we can't leave any stone unturned here. We have a responsibility-"

"So what's the other solution?" Andrea asked interrupting RIck, and Lori wasn't happy about it, "we haven't come up with a single viable option yet. I wish we could."

"So let's work on it!" Dale shouted to the group of people.

"We are," Rick stated his voice strong.

"Stop it. Just stop it," Carol spoke out, "I'm sick of everybody fighting and arguing. I didn't ask for this. You can't ask us to decide something like this. Please, decide- either of you, both of you- but leave me out."

"Not speaking out or killing him yourself- there's no difference," Dale said to Carol who looked to him in shock.

"Alright, that's enough," Rick said wanting to stop the quarrel between the two, "anybody who want's the floor before we make a final decision has the chance."

Patricia and Maggie both sat down, and nobody spoke out so Dale tried it again, "you once said that we don't kill the living."

"Well that was before the living tried to kill us," Rick said trying to get his way out of this one.

"But don't you see? If we do this, the people that we were- the world that we knew is dead," Dale said quickly moving his hand to his side, "and this new world is ugly. It's... harsh. It's survival of the fittest. And that's a world that I don't want to live in and I don't believe any of you do. I can't... Please. Let's just do what's right."

"I'm with Dale," Valora said walking to stand next to him.

"Isn't anybody else going to stand with us?" Dale asked tears forming in his eyes as nobody spoke out.

After a long moment of silence Andrea spoke out, "they're right. We should try and find another way."  
Dale looked to his niece with hope in his eyes. Valroa smiled to her as she finally decided to do some good for a change. Shane looked to the girl with a 'you're an idiot' kind of look, and he got a cold glare from Valora.

"Anybody else?" Rick asked looking around the room.

Nobody spoke up and Rick looked to Valora and Dale who were shaking their heads, "are you all gonna watch too?" Valora asked her voice cracking as she asked them, "nah, you'll just go hide in your tents and try to forget that we're murdering human beings," she choked out, "I don't want to be part of it."

Valroa began to walk towards the front door, and she was stopped by Daryl grabbing her arm. She ripped her arm away from him, and looked up to him with teary-eyes and walked to the door. Behind her she heard footsteps, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Dale right behind her. She slowed down so that he was next to her.

"This is not right," she said rubbing at her eyes.

"I know it's not," Dale said rubbing at his eyes as well, "but thank you, for sticking with me until the end."

"I'll keep watch with you," she sighed, "but no smoking this time."

Dale nodded his head, "I'll make sure that I quit this time."

"You can start it up after the babies here," Valora smiled, "I know I will."

Dale laughed, "not a good habit for a mother to be to have."

"Oh well," she shrugged as they got to the RV, and she climbed up the ladder sitting near the edge looking down at her legs dangling off the edge.

"You want to sit in the lawnchair?" Dale asked her.

"I'm fine," she sighed, "this is actually pretty comfy."

"Suit yourself," Dale shrugged pulling the lawnchair closer over to her, "so you and Daryl having some issues?"

"Just about Randall and Destanie," she sighed, "he thinks that we shouldn't trust them. That they could end up leading their group to us."

Dale nodded his head, "what they're saying makes sense, but I don't see why we can't just give them a chance."

"I don't either," Valora sighed, as she looked over to the barn. There they were, Rick, Shane, and... Daryl were walking Destanie and Randall to the barn. Valroa swallowed the growing lump in her throat and she took in a deep breath.

"I need to go for a walk," Valora said pushing herself up to her feet.

"Want me to got with you?" Dale asked her.

"Nah, I just need a moment alone," she sighed climbing down the ladder, and heading to the open field next to the farm.


	31. Closer Together

It was cold outside as Valora made her way over to the fence. She swung one leg over, and then swung the other over afterwards. She sighed rubbing her arms trying to warm herself up. Everything that is happening right now was hitting her like a ton of bricks. In the barn, Rick was about to slaughter two people. The only reason being was that the two of them were associated with a not so friendly group of people. The thing that hit her the hardest was the fact that Daryl was in there with him.

Valora walked through the field stepping over branches, and muddy looking spots. She glanced to the ground as she walked past the pile of burnt bodies. She shook her head as she walked past them, and she continued on her walk. She was about halfway into the field when the smell hit her. It smelt familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. She slowed her pace down as she approached something. The smell was stronger, and she wasn't sure that her nose could handle anymore of the stench. She heard a branch snap and she grabbed her gun, and aimed it behind her. She looked around warily as she took in her surroundings. Once she was sure there was nothing around, she moved forward.

There on the ground lied a cow, eaten into. The cow was groaning in pain, and Valora put a hand to her mouth. She backed up few feet and bent over to vomit out what she had eaten that day. Once she pulled herself together she heard another branch snap. She pulled out her gun and aimed it. She slowly turned in a circle, and looked around her.

"If this is a joke, it isn't funny," Valora said worry in her voice.

She was forcefully shoved to the ground from behind. Her gun flew from her hands, and she turned so she was laying on her back. A walker fell on top of her, and it was trying to take a bite out of her throat. She let out a scream of fear, as she struggled to keep the walker off of her. She kicked her legs, and tried to shove the walker off with all of her might. Her blue-eyes met the dead-eyes of the walker, and it inhumanly screamed at her. She kept her mouth shut, and bit her cheek suppressing another scream. The walker was chomping down at her with his teeth clanking together loudly. She moved her head to the side as the walker got its mouth just centimeters away from her face.

Valroa gave the walker one good shove, and the walker was now next to her. She looked around frantically as she searched for the gun that had flung from her hands. The gun was now in her hands after a long while of trying to find it. She held the gun in her shaky hands and the walker was now on top of her again. She cocked the gun, and screamed as she fired the gun. Blood spattered on her face, and on her clothes.

Valroa shoved the walker off of her, and scooted as far away as she could. She wrapped her arms around her legs as she was a safe distance away from the walker. She took in three deep breaths to try and calm herself down. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she jumped and moved in the opposite direction of them. She looked up to see Daryl looking down at her. Tears welled up in her eyes and she jumped to her feet, and into his arms.

"What happened?" Rick shouted rushing up next to the two of them.

"Looks like a walker got her," Daryl said holding her close and her pushed her so he could see her face, "did you get bit? Scratched or anything?"

She shook her head not being able to say anything at the moment, and Daryl nodded pulling her back into the hug, "she's good," Daryl said, "walker just spooked her."

Rick nodded his head, and he looked down to the walker not to far away from them. He neared the walker now getting the smell of the cow that had been ripped open and eaten into. He turned his head back, trying to get the smell out of his nose. He held a hand out to the group of people who were following behind him. Rick then got closer, now seeing the cow, and he took in a deep breath and breathed out.

Daryl wrapped a protective arm around Valora's shoulder and began to head back to the camp. Halfway there Dale ran into them. Dale was out of breath as he stopped in front of the two.

"Is- is she alright?" Dale asked his voice full of worry.

"She's fine," Daryl said, "walker out there just spooked her."

"Thank god," Dale panted resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Why was she out there?" Daryl asked him knowing he wasn't going to get an answer out of Valroa tonight.

"She said she needed some time to think," Dale said, "probably about everything that had happened today."

"You know why she chose to go out in the middle of the field by herself?" Daryl asked wanting to get more information out of the man.

"No idea," Dale shrugged his shoulders.

Daryl nodded to him knowing that he wasn't lying. Daryl kept on walking back to the camp with Valora under his arm. Once they reached the fence he hopped over, and helped Valora over the fence. They got to the camp, and once they reached the tent Daryl helped Valroa take off her weapons and shoes. He laid down in the bed next to her wrapping a protective arm around her. Valora snuggled in as close as she could to Daryl, and let tears fall. She had been so scared when that walker came up behind her. She was afraid for Steven, for the kids, for her baby, and for Daryl.

"You gonna be okay?" Daryl asked in a soft tone down to her.

Valora sniffed as she looked up to him, and slowly nodded her head not being able to speak. Daryl rubbed the back of her head with his hand trying his best to comfort her, and he planted a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"Just sleep," Daryl whispered.

She obliged feeling the tiredness hit her, and she cuddled closer to him as she slowly drifted into sleep.

Valora sat up in quickly startling Daryl and he sat up quickly with her. She woke up in a cold sweat, and her breaths were coming in short pants. She had dreamed about that walker getting her, and then she dreamed about the farm later being overrun. She put her head in her hands as she rested her head on her knees. She tried to calm herself by trying to take deep breaths, but they showed no support.

Daryl put a hand on her back, looking sadly to her as he wasn't able to do anything in this situation, "bad dream?"

Valora nodded her head, and opened her mouth to speak, "I-I, t-that walker- that walker got me, and after that the farm- the farm, it- it was overrun."

"Don't worry," Daryl said rubbing her back, "nothing like that is gonna happen."

"It- it felt so real though," Valroa said looking back to him.

"Don't worry," Daryl said as the corners of his mouth slightly turned up, "I won't let anything happen to you."

* * *

The next morning the two of them woke up at around sunrise, and Valroa was feeling slightly better. The two of them slid their shoes on, and grabbed their weapons and headed out. They looked to the campfire to see that everyone was slowly making their way over to sit around the fire. Valora sadly smiled to everyone who gave her worried looks. Valora sat down in a lawnchair and Daryl stood right behind her.

"So what's the plan for today?" Daryl asked looking to Rick.

Rick looked to the ground, and then glanced to the looks of the worried campers around, "we need to move closer to the house. Pack our things, and get as close as Hershal will let us. We also have to deal with Randall and Destanie today. Daryl, if you could, I would like it if you'd accompany me so we can take them out," Rick said and Daryl nodded to him, "other than that, everything else today is getting things moved to the house."

Once the sun was fully over the horizon Maggie and Hershal came down to the camp to talk with Rick about getting us all moved into the house. Hershal told Rick that he was thinking about letting us all move in now because of what happened last night, and because winter was drawing close

"It's gonna be tight, that many people in the house," Rick said looking over to Hershal.

"Don't worry about that," Hershal said ignoring the fact that the house wasn't going to be as roomy as before, "with the swamp hardening, and the creek drying up..."

"With fifty head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell," Maggie said from behind Rick.

"She's right," Hershal said nodding his head, "we should've moved you in long ago."

"All right," Rick said after nodding to Hershal and he looked to the group of people around him, "let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out towards the road. We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sight lines both sides of the property."

Valroa looked to Melanie and Kayden who were standing behind the group of adults not knowing what to do, "where's your dad?" she asked walking over to the two young ones.

"He's helping Carol pack her things," Kayden smiled up to her, "he said to wait for him."

"Here," Valroa said, "let me help you guys get your things up to the house. Do you have everything packed?"

Melanie nodded her head and pointed to the bag that was resting on the ground behind her, "we packed our things last night."

"Why last night?" Valroa asked her eyebrow raised.

"Daddy overheard Rick talking to his wife about moving up to the house, and he had us pack our stuff," Kayden explained.

Valora nodded her head, "you sure this is all of your stuff?"

The two of them nodded their head, and Valroa shrugged her shoulders as she picked up the bag. She smiled down to the two kids, and then felt the weight of the bag leave her shoulder. She looked back to see Daryl pulling the bag off her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Shouldn't strain yourself," Daryl said throwing the bag over his shoulder.

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I can't do anything," Valroa said smirking at him.

"Better safe than sorry," he said shrugging his shoulders as he walked to the truck and swung the bag into the back.

Hershal walked over with a box, "I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can survive a few days if need be."

"What about patrols?" Andrea asked Rick.

"Let's get this area locked down first," Rick said wanting to take things one step at a time, "after that Shane'll assign shifts while Daryl and I take Randall and Destanie offsite and cut 'em loose."

"We're back to that now?" Shane asked not liking the idea of 'cutting them loose.'

Rick turned around to face his friend and said, "it was the right plan first time around. Poor execution."

Shane laughed, "that's a slight understatement."

"You don't agree, but this is what's happening," Rick said taking a step closer to him, "swallow it. Move on."

"You know that the walker attacking Valora, and the prisoners- they're two separate things right?" Shane asked trying to convince Rick to go the other way with the prisoners, "you wanna take Daryl as your wingman, be my guest."

Rick nodded his head, "thank you," he said not wanting to deal with Shane's bullshit.

"You got it," Shane muttered looking away from the back of Rick who walked away from him.

Valroa smirked over to him before turning back to the two kids, "come on, your dad will meet us back up at the house," Valora smiled down at the two kids leading them to the truck.

She lifted them into the back of the truck, and pulled the back closed as she made her way to the drivers seat. She turned the keys in the ignition, and put it into drive making her way up to the house. She parked the truck by the entrance and hopped out to go to the back to let the kids out. She opened the back and smiled up to Melanie and Kayden who were eagerly waiting for her to help them out of the back.

Once the two kids feet hit the ground they ran up to the house. She smiled to the two of them and looked back to see the rest of the group approaching. She waved to them as they neared where she stood and she smiled to Daryl who was riding on his brother's motorcycle.

"Where do you want the truck?" Valora asked as Rick was now closer.

"There's fine," Rick said, "just make sure that we can get out of her quickly if something were to happen."

"Roger that," she smiled as she turned around and closed the back deciding that the truck should be fine where it is.

After that they everyone was grabbing their things and taking them inside. Valroa was about to set her things in the dining room when Beth came up to her.

"You can have my bed," Beth said the her.

"No, I couldn't do that," Valroa shook her head.

"No, you're going to need to sleep somewhere more comfortable," Beth smiled to her, "I can handle sleeping on the floor."

"Make sure Steven doesn't leave you by yourself then," she smiled to the girl, and she nodded, "thank you."

"No problem," she smiled, "let me help take your things upstairs."

"I got it," she smiled stopping her from grabbing her bag, "this is all I've got."

"You sure you don't want any help?" Beth asked making sure.

"I'm sure," Valroa smiled, and then looked past her to see Daryl making his way over to her.

Valora nodded to Beth before walking past her and up to Daryl, "looks like were sleeping upstairs."

Daryl nodded his head, and the two of them made their way up the stairs. Once they were in Beth's room Valroa tossed her bag on the floor next to the bed. She sat down looking out the window, and then looked up to Daryl who was going through his pack for his knife. Valora smiled to him, and looked to her hands in her lap.

"You promise you'll come back okay?" she asked not looking away from her hands.

Daryl glanced up to her from when he was looking for his knife, and said, "I'll be back, no worries. I ain't gonna try and kill Rick like Shane did."

Valora raised an eyebrow, "what are you talking about?"

"Rick was talking to Lori 'bout how Shane had tried to leave him behind along with the two prisoners," Daryl said finally finding his knife in his pack, "Shane's snapped, and he doesn't look like he's planning on coming back."

Valora slowly nodded her head, "must be tough on Rick knowing that about his closest friend."

Daryl grunted in response, and zipped his pack shut as he looked up to Valora sitting on the bed. The corners of his mouth slightly turned upwards, and he sat on the bed. He leaned over and placed his hand on Valora's chin. He placed his lips softly onto hers, and when he pulled away he rested his forehead on her looking into her blue eyes.

"I'll be back," he smiled to her, "don't stress so much."

Valroa smiled half-smiling back to him, "can't help it."

Daryl placed another soft kiss on her lips before standing up. Valora stood up as well and followed him down the stairs and into the living room with everyone. She smiled to Beth who was talking with Steven in the dining room. She watched as Daryl made his way outside where Rick was on the porch. She looked over to where Jenner was standing with Carol.

Carol nodded to him before walking in her direction, and Valroa took this chance to get some answers out of her, "so Carol," Valroa started as she walked over to her making sure Jenner wasn't around, "how're things with, Jenner?"

Carol looked to Valor with wide eyes and she covered her mouth, "is it that obvious?"

Valora laughed, "pretty much, yeah," she smiled to her, "but don't worry, everyone deserves love."

Carol smiled to Valroa, "well, since you asked, I'd say things are doing great with Jenner."

"I'm gladto hear," Valora nodded, "how's Sophia?"

"She's doing good," she smiled looking over to her daughter who was sitting with Kayden and Melanie on the living room couch, "found out yesterday that she has a thing for Carl."

"They grow up so fast," Valroa sighed in a jokingly way, earning a laugh from Carol.

"Too fast if you ask me," she sighed.

"Steven was like that, too though," Valora laughed, "he used to get called giraffe because of how tall he was."

Carol smiled looking over to where Steven was standing, "you're right though. He is taller than most of the men in this group."

"Yeah," Valora nodded her head, "its funny how he's at least a couple inches taller than Daryl. Must be a little weird for him."

Carol smirked, "yeah, more awkward for Daryl to know that his son is taller than him."

"Did you say son?" Valora smirked.

"Oops, did I?" she asked covering her mouth with a smile.

"It's fine," Valroa smiled waving a hand, "I guess everyone sees us a man and wife now."

"To be honest, I think in this kind of world, you two would be the closest thing to marriage nowadays," Carol honestly answered.

"You really think so?" Valora asked out of curiosity.

Carol nodded her head, "Lori and Rick seem to be drifting apart now. It's sad because of how excited he was to see her alive, and now they seem to be growing distant. Carl is also growing cold because he doesn't have his father there to help him through tough times now."

Valora nodded her head, "has anyone tried talking to Rick about it?"

"I think Shane has," Carol shook her head, "but with what's going on with him, I would say they might have been a little, out of it."

Valora nodded her head, "at least Daryl, Dale, and I are the only ones who think Shane's snapped."

"Everyone thinks he's snapped," Carol said in a quieter tone, "they're just afraid that if they say anything, they'll be the next ones on Shane's hit list."

"True," Valora nodded her head agreeing with Carol.

"So how are things with Daryl?" Carol smirked to herself.

"Good," she smiled, and then she sighed her smile turning to a small frown, "just him being Rick's right hand man now, he's going to be up and around more."

"Don't worry," Carol nodded her head putting a hand on her shoulder, "you have the rest of us for when Daryl needs to take a short leave."

Valora looked to her and smiled, "thanks."

"It's what we do," she smiled, "besides, if we're going to live together for the rest of our lives, might as well get used to them."

Valroa chuckled, "I don't think I could stand living with Shane for the rest of my life."

"None of us could," Carol shook her head.

Patricia walked up to the both of them, "I was thinking on starting dinner, you two want to help out?"

"Sure," Valora smiled and looked to Carol who was nodding behind her, "we'd love to help out."

"No need to be so formal," Patricia smiled, "we're gonna be living this close with each other for a long time, so we're bound to get on each other's nerves sooner or later."

Valora chuckled following behind Patricia, "that's highly true."

The three of them were in the kitchen, and they began to prepare dinner for the night. The three of them shared past stories while they cooked, and soon after Lori and Jacqui had joined them. Valroa laughed at Jacqui's story of her accidentally walking in on T-dog changing his clothes when they were roommates, and weren't in a relationship yet, and how she said that was how their relationship somehow started.

It was then that T-dog came through the front doors with a loud bang of the door hitting the wall, "Randall is gone."

Valroa rushed to the front door with everyone behind them. Valora rushed over to where Daryl was standing by the shed. She looked over to Rick who was standing in the shed with Destanie looking up to him with hurt in her eyes. Valora looked to the girl in shock, she looked scared.

"Rick," Valroa said to him and he turned his head to her, "let me talk to her," Rick was about to protest, "alone."

He smoothed his hair back, and he looked to Daryl to help him out, but Daryl showed no support believing that Destanie won't be able to do anything with the cuffs on her, "two minutes," Rick said stepping out of the shed.

Valroa walked into the shed, and closed the door behind her. She unstrapped her gun and knife just in case and set them on the stool on the other side of the shed. She turned around to see fear in her eyes. She sat down cross legged in front of her and leaned close to her.

"What happened here?" Valora asked in a hushed tone so that people outside wouldn't hear her, "where's Randall?"

"You can't tell anyone," Destanie whispered looking to Valora's eyes for the truth.

"I promise," she said.

She nodded for her to lean in closer, and she did, "Shane took him."

"Are you serious?" Valroa not surprised that it was Shane that took him.

"Came in here all willed up, and took Randall," she whispered to her, "punched me in the gut telling me that if I said anything I would be hurt worse than that."

Valroa held a hand to her mouth in thought and nodded, "sounds like something Shane would do," then she looked to the girl with sympathy, "you okay?"

"I'm fine," she half smiled, "just a little stomach ache. It'll go away after a while."

Valora nodded her head, "I won't tell unless it gets out of hand okay?"

The girl nodded her head and watched as Valora stood up. Valroa grabbed her gun, and knife and strapped them around her thighs. The door opened and she looked to see Daryl standing there with an expectant look on his face. Valora shrugged her shoulders indicating that she wasn't able to get anything out of her. She stepped out of the shed and looked over to the forest where someone was yelling for Rick.

Shane was limping and he looked pretty beat up. His nose was bent in the wrong direction, and blood was gushing from the cut on his nose. The cut he had on his lip from when he took Randall and Destaine eighteen miles out was open again. Followed by other various cuts on his face.

"What happened?" Lori shouted to Shane who was making his way over to them.

"He's armed!" Shane shouted to them, "he's got my gun!"

"Are you okay?" Carl asked the man focusing on the cut on his nose that had blood rushing down his face.

"I'm fine," Shane said as he approached them, "little bastard just snuck up on me. Clocked me in the face."

"Alright, Hershal, T-dog, get everybody back to the house," Rick ordered to them turning to face the group of people now, "Glenn, Daryl come with us."

"Just let him go," Carol said, "that was the plan right? Just let 'em go."

"The plan was to cut them loose far away from here," Shane said with blood splattering everywhere with every word he spoke, "not on our front step with a gun."

"Don't go out there," Carol shouted to the men, "you don't know what could happen."

Daryl was about to walk past Valora, but Valroa grabbed his jacket sleeve and pulled him to her, and she whispered in his ear, "Shane's lying. He killed Randall out there. I'd look for a body if I were you," she pulled away and planted a kiss on his lips.

He looked down to her with slight confusion, but shook it off quickly as he turned around to catch up with Glenn and Daryl. She watched them until she was sure they were in the forest. She looked back to see everyone heading back to the house, and she sighed.

"Steven," Valora said and Steven turned to look back to her, "I need your help with something."

"What about Randall?" Steven asked a little worried.

"I wouldn't worry about him, he shouldn't be anywhere near here," Valora sadly smiled to her son who nodded his head and walked over to her.

"What do you need help with?" he asked as he approached her.

"Did you see where Shane came in through the forest?" Valora asked him.

"Yeah, why?" he asked her raising an eyebrow at her.

"Can you show me please?" she asked.

Steven slowly nodded his head making his way over to where Shane had come back from his adventure in the forest. She looked to the ground, and didn't see what she was looking for. She began to kick at the fallen leaves on the ground, and then she kicked something metal. She smirked to herself, and bent over picking up the gun.

"Isn't that-?" Steven started.

"Shane's?" Valroa asked looking up to her son, "you starting to piece the puzzle together now?"

Steven nodded his head, "so he killed him?"

"Bingo," she sadly sighed looking into the forest, "the only way I would've known to look over here was for the fact that Destanie told me that Shane was the one to take Randall. Punched her in the gut, and threatened to do worse if she spoke out."

"Sick bastard," Steven said through clenched teeth, "I hope the three of them eventually catch on while they're out there. Or they'll be in a load of trouble."

"What do you think I told Daryl before he went out there?" she asked looking up to him.

"I just thought it was a long 'I love you' kiss," Steven shrugged.

Valora laughed at his comment, "no, that's not it."


	32. They'll Be Fine

Valora and Steven stood there looking into the forest that the our men had gone into not even five minutes ago. Valora sighed turning on her heels and making her way back to the house. Steven followed behind her close on her heels. Once they had reached the house they met everyone's scared faces that were sitting around in the living room. Valora sat down on the small side table next to the couch that Carol and Lori were sitting on as they held Sophia and Carl closely.

"Randall didn't jump Shane," Valora said looking up to the group that were now giving her confused looks.

"Are you saying that someone let him loose?" Jenner asked her.

"Bingo," Valora nodded her head, "anyone want to take a guess at who it might be?"

"Are you accusing Shane of letting Randall out?" Lori asked from next to Valora her tone filled with anger.

Valora pulled out Shane's gun from the back of her pants, "this is Shane's gun," Valora looked up to everyone, "didn't Shane say that Randall took his gun?"

"He took the kid out into the forest," Glenn said nodding his head.

"We got ourselves a winner!" Valora shouted holding her hand up to Glenn.

"I bet he killed the boy out there," Dale said holding a hand to his mouth as he stared to the floor his expression blank.

"I can't believe this," Lori said shaking her head as she looked to everyone around her as she stood up, "I can't believe you're accusing Shane of murdering someone."

"Mom," Carl started as he looked up to him mom, "Shane did this. There's no going back, it's over now.

Lori looked to her son in shock not wanting to believe that her son had just accused Shane of such a crime. She looked around to everyone in the room that sadly nodded to her. She shook her head and sat back down next to Carl and kept quiet.

"I know it's something that we all don't want to believe, but this is life now," Valora said sadly, as she looked up to everyone as she fiddled with Shane's gun in her hand, "I don't even want to believe that someone in our group was the more dangerous one."

"We'll deal with Shane when they get back," Patricia said standing up and straightening her skirt, "but let's prepare a meal for them when they get back. I'm sure they'll be hungry."

Valora stood up and put the gun back in the back of her pants, "let's do that."

Patricia, Valora, Beth, Andrea, Maggie, and Carol all went into the kitchen and continued with their cooking that was interrupted before. Lori finally walked in the kitchen telling the women that she wanted to help with the cooking as well. With the help of everyone they should get the cooking done in no time. Maggie pulled Valora to the side, and asked her if she wanted to help with setting the table. Valora accepted her offer, and Maggie went to go get the tablecloth while Valora went to get the plates and silverware. When Valora was back in the dining room Maggie had the tablecloth set up and she was waiting for her arrival.

"There a reason you asked me to help with setting the table?" Valora asked looking up to her as she set the plates and silverware on the table.

"No reason," Maggie shrugged her shoulders, "you just seemed like the least annoying out of the group of women in there."

Valora chuckled, "who would you say's the most annoying?"

Maggie looked to the kitchen to make sure none of them were paying any attention, "Lori and Andrea are tied in first place. Ones pregnant with a baby who she don't know who the father is, and ones just plain stupid."

Valora laughed, "I can totally agree with you."

"Least you know who the daddy is with your baby," Maggie mumbled as she set the napkins by the plates.

"Plan on having kids with Glenn?" Valora asked as she set the plates at all of the spots.

Maggie froze for a second as she slowly set her hands on the back of a chair with a napkin still in her hands, "if he'd talk to me," Maggie sighed, "but yeah, if the world ever goes back to the way it was I'd definitely have his kids."

Valora smiled to her, "you two are perfect for eachother you know that?"

"How so?" Maggie asked eyeing Valora with a smirk on her face.

"You two- you just- you just fit together somehow," Valora said trying to think about how to put it, "you just do. I don't know how to explain it, but you two are perfect for eachother."

"I wouldn't really expect for someone like you to go for Daryl," Maggie smirked grabbing the forks after she placed the last napkin down.

Valora shrugged her shoulders, "I wouldn't expect a guy like him to go for a girl like me either. Weird combination."

Maggie laughed as she set down the last fork, and Valora set down the last plate on the kids table. Valora sighed as she looked over to the kitchen to see the women in there working in silence. She smirked to herself thinking about why they were quiet.

"I'm gonna go check on the kids," Valora said as she turned the corner and headed upstairs where Jenner was with the kids. She made her way up the stairs holding onto the railing as she walked up them. She turned the corner, and walked into Hershal's room where she heard the children's laughter coming from. Valora knocked softly on the doors twice before entering. She smiled as she opened the door, and looked to the four kids sitting on the bed with Jenner standing up in front of them.

"What's this?" Valora asked smiling as she walked inside.

"Daddy's playing teacher!" Melanie shouted pointing to her dad who was smiling at her from the end of the bed.

"Is he now?" Valora asked walking over to the bed and sitting down next to Melanie, "go on, just pretend like I'm not even here."

Jenner nodded to her, and continued with his lesson. He was teaching the kids science, and about the human body. If these kids were going to be growing up fast, they were going to be expected to learn more at younger ages. As for Melanie and Kayden, neither of them probably had a clue as to what he was talking about. Both of their parents were both scientists as a classified lab, the two of them could be smarter than they look and act.

Once Jenner was done with his small lesson about the bones in the body, Carl stood up and walked over to the window. He had Shane's binoculars and he lifted them to his face as he searched the field for any sign of his dad, or walkers. Valora felt sympathy for the kid, having his father come back from the grave, only to have him leave him behind at every given moment. She believed that the father hadn't even bothered to sit down with the kid and have a conversation with him.

Valora stood up and made her way over to where Carl was standing, and she squatted down next to him, "you don't need to worry about your father, he'll come back safe."

"How do you know that?" Carl asked looking to her taking the binoculars from his eyes, "you know the kind of world we live in, anything could happen."

"I know your dad," Valora sighed, "even though I don't know his whole backstory or whatever music was his favorite, but I know that he'll do anything to keep his family and himself alive. Even if that means risking the lives of those he cares about."

"Are you saying that he's going to kill Shane?" Carl asked her swallowing the lump in his throat, "is my dad going to have to kill his best friend?"

"If Shane doesn't get his act together," Valora stopped as she looked out the window, "I'm afraid that someone might have to take care of Shane."

"I don't want him to do that though," Carl said looking back out the window, "if it has to be someone it'll have to be me."

Valora looked to the little boy in shock, and shook her head, "you know, we're all like one giant family now," Valora smiled putting a hand on the boys head, "all of us, including Shane. We're all one crazy, stupid family, of dumb asses."

Carl smiled to himself as he stared out the window, not taking his eyes off the field. Valora stood up and patted the boy on the shoulder, and turned around to see Jenner had left with the kids. She walked to the door that was ajar, and turned around one last time making sure that he hadn't moved from his place in front of the window. She smiled closing the door quietly behind her and slowly made her way down the stairs thinking bout what Carl had said. How he had said that he would be the one who wanted to be the one to kill Shane. She was going to have to tell Rick that he'll need to talk to his son.

Valora entered the living room and looked around to see that nobody was in the living room, and everyone was now in the kitchen and dining room. She walked over to the dining room where T-dog, Jacqui, Hershal, and Jimmy were all sitting at the dining room table. Along with Morgan, Duane and Steven who were sitting at the kids table disassembling and reassembling their guns. She patted her son on the shoulder as she made her way past him and into the kitchen where the women were still cooking dinner.

"Almost done?" Valora asked smelling the chicken cooking in the oven.

"Almost," Patricia smiled opening the oven and checking on the chicken, "should be done in a short while."

"That's good," Valora smiled and looked through the dining room to the front door of the house, "they should be back soon."

"Done," Patricia said as she pulled the chicken out of the oven.

"Danm," T-dog said entering the kitchen, "that smells really good."

"Might as well make our last meals before the winter taste good," Patricia smiled as she set the tray on the counter.

Valora looked to Andrea, then to Beth and Maggie, and her eyes finally landed on Lori. The woman in their group who had a husband,and a boyfriend. A son who was beginning to grow colder and colder, and she also had a baby on the way. She didn't know who the father was either. Valora sadly smiled and walked over next to the woman.

"Can I talk to you in private for a minute?" Valora said quietly next to the woman, and Lori slowly nodded her head and the two of them walked out to the front porch.

"What's this about?" Lori asked with slight worry in her tone.

"Carl," Valora started.

"What about him?" Lori asked crossing her arms over her chest as she looked out of the empty field, "did he say something rude again? If he did, I'm terribly sorry."

"No," Valora sighed, "I'm sorry for the boy."

Lori looked at her in confusion, "why's that?"

"Sure he has his family still, but his family never seems to keep in check with him," Valora sighed as she looked to the floor, "his father isn't talking to him like a father should, and his own mother hardly ever knows where he is. Do you even know where he is right now?"

"He's in the house," Lori said.

"You should know where exactly he is right now," Valora said looking up to the woman with sympathy in her face, feeling sympathy for how stupid the woman was, "I know you're trying to let your son grow up fast, but you can't let him grow up too fast, or he'll end up cold."

"Are you telling me that I'm raising my son wrong?" Lori asked her feeling quite offended.

"Yes, I am," Valora said turning her body to the woman, "you are winning the worst mother of the year award as of this moment. You never know where your son is, you have a baby that you have no idea who's the father, and for chrissakes! Your own son wants to be the one to take care of Shane, he told me straight out that he wants to be the one to take care of him if he snaps! Lori, open your eyes, and fucking watch your son, or something is going to happen to him."

Lori looked to Valora with her eyes wide. Lori didn't say anything, just moved her jaw up and down wanting to say something, but no words came out. Valora heavily sighed, and walked past the woman. She opened the screen door and softly closed it behind her. She walked into the dining room to see everyone awkwardly trying to continue with what they were doing.

"How much of that did you guys hear?" Valora sighed closing her eyes.

"We heard enough," T-dog finally answered after a long and awkward silence.

"It's the truth though," Andrea said, "that woman never knows where her own damned son is."

Everyone nodded their heads followed by quiet 'hmm's'. Lori walked into the room pulling back her hair with one hand crossed over her chest. She sat down on the couch, and slowly everyone migrated into the living room. Valora took a seat next to her son who sat next to Beth with a protective arm wrapped around her. She looked around at the worried faces in the room, and sadly smiled to herself as she looked to her hands that were tapping a beat on her leg.

Then the sound of a gunshot rang throughout the house. Valora looked up to everyone who shared the same expression as her, shock. Valora got up to her feet, and was about to open the front door to go outside. But someone's hand grabbed her wrist preventing her from opening the front door. Valora followed the arm, and looked to see that the person who had grabbed her wrist was Morgan.

"We don't know who fired that gun," Morgan said in a calm tone, "it could be those men that we were with. We can't risk it."

"But Daryl's out there," Valora said her voice quiet as she looked back to the unopened door, "what if he was shot, what if he was the one shooting the gun? I need to see if he's okay."

"Valora," Morgan said in a calm tone, and she turned her head back to his to meet his warm comforting smile, "don't worry. If any of these people know Daryl, they know that he'll come back with minor injuries at the most."

Valora softly smiled and looked to the people in the room who slightly nodded their heads to her. Valora looked back to the door one last time before turning around and sitting back down on the couch. Steven put a hand on her shoulder telling her that it was going to be alright without words. Valora still couldn't help but worry, but that's just who she was. Always worrying about someone.

Valora sat back in the couch tapping a beat with her fingers on her thigh. The air was growing tense, as the time slowly rolled on. Valora's head shot up when she heard the front door swing open and slam shut. Daryl and Glenn were entering the room, without Rick and Shane. Valora's heart soared that now she knew the two of them were okay, but her heart sank as she feared for the worse for Rick and Shane. Daryl's eyes scanned the room looking for someone in particular, and when they landed on Valora he felt relief rush through him that now he knew she was alright. He nodded to Valora who was warmly smiling him, and looked to everyone in the room.

"Rick and Shane ain't back yet?" Daryl asked swinging his crossbow over his shoulder.

"No," Lori choked out as she moved her hand from her mouth as she was thinking about Rick.

"We heard a shot," Daryl said.

"Wasn't them finding Randall," Valora sighed sitting up so she could rest her elbows on her knees.

"We found him," Daryl said not giving away the big shocking truth yet.

"He back in the shed with Destanie?" Maggie asked him.

Daryl slightly shook his head, "he's a walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Carol asked him holding her daughter close.

"No, the weird thing is," Glenn started looking to everyone with a confused expression, "he wasn't bit."

"His neck was broke," Daryl said adjusting his crossbow.

"So he fought back," Patricia suggested.

"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each others," Daryl said looking around at everyone who were now understanding the situation on their hands, "and Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him, they were together."

"Would you please get back out there and find Rick and Shane, and find out what the heck is going on," Lori said walking up in front of Daryl who backed away from her slightly.

"You got it," Daryl said walking past her to the front door.

"Thank you," Lori said touching his shoulder as he walked by.

Valora rushed to get in front of him, and she stopped him. She didn't even have to say anything, and Daryl planted a kiss on her lips. The kiss was short, and sweet, but it had a lot of meaning into it. Valora stared into his eyes for one more second as she watched him walk out the door. Valora lingered a while before following after everyone who was walking outside. Thing is, everyone was stopped on the porch looking out to the fields.

"Holy shit," Valora mumbled under her breath.

"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershal whispered back to her as quiet as he could. Patricia didn't hesitate as she went into the house, and shut all of the lights off.

"I'll get the guns," Andrea said as she turned back to the house and went inside with Dale close behind her.

"Maybe they're just passing like the herd on the highway," Glenn said behind Daryl, "maybe we should just go inside?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl said in a sarcastic tone even in this kind of situation, "a herd that size would rip the house down."

Lori came walking out of the house, "Carl's gone."

"What?" Carol asked looking back to the woman.

"He- he was upstairs, now I can't find him anywhere," Lori said in a rushed tone.

"See," Valora shouted in a whisper, "this is what happens when you don't know where your kids are.

"Let's go look for him," Carol said taking the idiotic woman back into the house.

Andrea and Dale came back with the two bags of guns that were Ricks, Valora's and Steven's, and the Greene's guns. Everyone picked a gun from the bag, and Hershal looked up to Daryl.

"Maggie?" Glenn asked as he watched her grabbing a gun out of the bag.

"You grow up country, you pick up a thing or two," Maggie said gripping the gun tighter.

"I got the number- it's no use," Daryl said looking out the the many walkers roaming through the field.

"You can leave if you want," Hershal suggested grabbing a different gun that was more his taste.

"You gonna take 'em all on?" Daryl asked making sure that this is what the old man wants to do.

"We have guns. We have cars," Hershal stated plain and simple.

"Kill as many as we can," Andrea said as she was loading her jacket with ammunition, "and we'll use the cars to lead the rest of them off the farm."

"Are you serious?" Daryl asked him not believing that he would jeopardize the lives of many, just for a farm he cared about.

"This is my farm," Hershal said cocking his gun as he looked over to him, "I'll die here."

"All right," Daryl said pulling his crossbow off of his back, "its a good a night as any."

Valora bent down and picked one of the few guns left, and cocked it. She turned around and ran into someone. She looked up to see that the person she had run into was Daryl. She looked up at him with a determined look, and he shook his head.

"I'm not gonna have you dying out there," Daryl said picking the gun from her hands and handing it to Dale who was standing right next to her, "you're staying back here in case things get bad and you need to leave immediately."

Valora was about to protest, but in this situation, Daryl was the right one. She should stay back here for the baby, and to stay alive for those around her. For those who needed her in this shithole of a world.

"Okay," Valora nodded her head, "but you get out of there if things get bad."

Daryl nodded his head and planted a kiss on her forehead. Valora grabbed his jacket and pulling him back down so she could kiss him on the lips. When he pulled away he kissed her one last time before turning around and getting on his brother's bike. She stayed on the porch and watched as he rode into the fields, and she turned around. Her eyes landed on the shed, the shed that Destanie was still in. The shed that had four walkers surrounding it.

"Dale!" Valora shouted in a whisper, "come here!"

Dale rushed to her side, "what?"

"The shed," Valora pointed over to it, and he nodded his head, "Destanie is still in there, and I think you're the only one in their right mind that would help me get her out of there unbitten."

Dale nodded his head, "I'm your man. I got your back covered."

Valora nodded her head, and she pulled out her knife wanting to take out as many walkers as she could with the least amount of noise, especially when they were that close to the house. The two of them slowly approached the shed, and the walkers hadn't noticed them yet. Valora moved to one side of where the walkers were standing by the door, and Dale on the other side. Valora whistled getting one of their attention, and when it walked toward her she jabbed her knife in between the eyes. The other three turned around and were about to lunge for her, but Dale whistled getting their attention for a second. Valora took that chance to take another one out while Dale kept the other two distracted. When she heard the other guns going off now, she just pulled out her gun and blew the two other walkers brains out.

Valora shot the lock, and swung the door open. Destanie was in there trying to get out of the cuffs, but when she saw that it was just them she relaxed. Dale stood at the door keeping watch for more walkers, and Valora pulled out her knife, and cut the wire they used as cuffs. The wire had dug into her skin from her trying to get away from the four walkers that had smelt Randall's dried up blood from Daryl's 'talk' with him.

"Thank you," Destanie whispered rubbing her wrists after she was lose.

Valora put a finger to her lips, and Dale peeked out the door to see that the coast was clear. The three of them rushed to the front of the house, and got onto the porch. Valora looked out to see that the barn was up in flames, and that their truck was burning along with it. Valora looked over to the RV that was by the front of the house.

"Get to the RV," Valora said and looked into the house through the window, "I'll get everyone else, just wait for us."

Valora didn't wait for them to respond, and she rushed inside. Jenner, Carol, and Lori were sitting in the living room with the kids, all except for Carl who hadn't been found.

"We need to get out of here," Valora said rushing over to where Jenner was holding Kayden and Melanie, and she grabbed Melanie, "the house is being overrun. We need to get out of here now, or none of us are going to make it."

"We haven't found Ca-" Lori started by Valora cut her off.

"I'm sure he's with Rick, if not anyone else," Valora said calming the woman down, "now you get them in the car now," Valora said handing Melanie over to Lori, "I've got to go and get my things from upstairs. Now go!"

Valora rushed up the stairs, and grabbed hers and Daryls bags, and she quickly went down the stairs and out the door. Valora rushed over to the RV that was still waiting for her to get out there, and she opened the door to see a gun pointed to her face. Andrea relaxed and let her in the car. Valora looked to see that the only people in the car were Jenner and his kids, along with Jacqui, Carol and Sophia.

"Where's everyone else?" Valora asked looking around the RV.

"Lori's looking for Carl, and Steven and T-dog went with her," Carol said covering her mouth as she shook her head, "we told them not to go, but Lori was determined to find her son."

"Shit," Valora mumbled biting her nail, "I'm going for them."

"No, you're not," Dale said turning the keys in the ignition, "we're leaving now, or else none of us will make it out."

"But, Steven-" Valora began.

"You're sounding like Lori for chrissakes," Andrea mumbled sitting down in the passengers seat, "just sit down, they'll be fine."

Valora slightly smiled as she sat down at the small table the RV had and she set her bags on the floor. She relaxed and the felt something pulling at her shirt. She looked to see Melanie standing there with a sad smile on her face, and Valora smiled picking the little girl up and sitting her next to her.

"Don't worry, they'll be fine," Valora sighed looking out the window at the chaos occurring in the rear view mirror behind them, "they'll be fine."


	33. Infected

Valora stood up from her seat at the table in the RV. She held onto everything so she could manage to walk up behind Dale where he was driving. She looked out in front to see lone walkers reaching out for the RV as they made their way past them.

"We should head east," Andrea said looking at the map she had found in the glovebox, "the coast should be our best bet."

"What about the rest of the group?" Valora asked her eyes widening, "we have to go back, Steven could still be there."

"It's not an option," Andrea said looking back to the woman with sad eyes, "we have to assume the worst case scenario."

"No," Valora said shaking her head, "my son is back there, and I'll be damned if we don't go back there."

"We can't go back there," Andrea shook her head, "with all of those walkers out there, it's not an option."

"Then I'm getting off right here," Valora said pushing herself over to the door. She opened it and was about to step out of the car, but was pulled back when someone wrapped their arms around her waist and pulled her back into the car. Valora looked back to see that it was Destanie who had pulled her back into the RV.

"Why are you doing this?" Valora asked as she looked up to the front of the RV, "my son is back there, and you expect me to just leave without finding out if he's okay? What about Daryl, I bet you he's back there keeping them all safe from walkers."

Andrea looked back to the woman in shock, and sat back in her sit facing forward. She put an elbow on the door, and held her hand in it. She moved her eyes up to Dale who was gripping the wheel tighter. Andrea shook her head.

"It's your call Dale," Andrea sighed lifting her head from her hand for a second.

Dale was quiet for a moment, and Valora eagerly awaited his response while she still laid on the floor with Destanie still holding her to keep her from jumping back to the door. Dale sighed and gripped the wheel tighter.

"We'll go back to the highway," Dale said, "where the RV broke down. That should be where everyone would meet up at."

Valora had tears falling from her eyes, and she pulled herself away from Destanie and moved over towards where Dale was, "thank you," Valora said putting a hand on his shoulder, "thank you so much."

"I would want the same if I were in your situation," Dale smiled up to her taking his eyes off the road for a second.

"The next right turn should be a one way trip back to the highway," Andrea said looking down to the map.

Valora turned around to see the shocked faces of everyone in the van. Valora sighed heading back to the table to sit down. Valora held her head in her hands, and she heard movement next to her and she looked up to see Destanie sitting in front of her. Valora sighed and smiled up to the girl.

"Thanks for keeping me from almost killing myself," Valora smiled up to the girl.

"I owed you one," the girl shrugged her shoulders, "well, I actually owe you one more, and one to Hershal, Steven, and Rick. Oh, I also owe Dale one, too."

Valora smiled, "I think you've proven that you're trustworthy," Valora looked back to Carol, Jenner, Melanie, Kayden, and Jacqui in the back of the truck, "don't you guys think so too?"

"We already trusted her," Carol said, "it was the boy that most of us were iffy about."

"I was scared of him too," Destanie sadly smiled looking to her hands resting on the table, you could see the deep cuts on her wrist that were from the wire of the cuffs that held her in the shed, "he was a great guy before the world went to shit, but after this happened her changed for the worse."

"Each of us had at least one person who have changed for the worst," Carol sadly sighed as she held her daughter closer to her, "my husband happened to be one of them."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Destanie sadly smiled to the woman.

Carol shook her head, "don't be, it's all in the past now."

Destanie sadly smiled to her before looking down at her hands. Valora quietly looked around the RV with every little thing in there reminding her of her son, and Daryl. She tried her hardest to keep herself from crying. She was breathing heavily which caught Destanie's attention, and the girl put a hand on hers.

"You okay?" she whispered to Valora so nobody else could hear.

Valora looked to the girl, and slowly nodded her head, "just worried."

The sound of a car horn rang through Valora's ears, and she sat up straighter. She stood up and looked out the windshield to see no car in sight. It was then that Dale chuckled and slowed down the RV.

"Well I'll be damned," Dale said looking out the window, "look who it is."

Valora stood up and opened the door, and looked behind the RV. There in a blue truck was Steven sitting in the passenger seat with Lori, Beth, and T-dog. Valora brought her hands to her face as she let the tears run down her face. Steven quickly got out of the truck and began to rush over to his mother. Valora held her arms open, and Steven hugged her tight.

"I thought that I lost you," Valora cried into his shirt.

Steven rubbed the back of his mother's head trying to comfort her, "I'm not gonna die that easy."

"Never. Do that again," Valora said pulling away from the hug, and poking his chest hard.

Steven chuckled, "yes mom."

Valora brought her son into another hug, and when she pulled away she looked past him to see T-dog standing there with Lori and Beth at his side. Valora smiled to him, and walked back to the RV. Jacqui rushed out of the RV and she ran to T-dog hugging him tightly. Valora smiled at the two of them reuniting.

"Did you find Carl?" Lori choked out, and Valora slowly shook her head.

"We had to get out of there as quickly as possible, we didn't have the chance to check," Valora shook her head again, "but I'm sure that they're waiting for us at the highway."

Then the faint sound of a motorcycle echoed through the trees. Valora's heart soared when she caught sight of the familiar motorcycle coming into her line of vision. She was jumping up and down for joy in the inside when he drove up the street. She saw that Daryl was on the bike with Duane. Valora's heart sank as she saw that the boy was in tears. Valora wanted to say something but wasn't able to find the words.

"What happened?" Steven asked standing next to his mom.

"Boy and his dad were caught in a group of walkers," Daryl said swinging a leg over the bike and helping the boy off the bike, "only one person could fit on back, so his dad shoved him on. We didn't look back to see if he made it."

Valora held a hand to her mouth, and walked up to the boy. She put her hands on his shoulders, and he looked up to her with tears in his eyes. Valora wrapped her arms around the boy, and rubbed his back. She let the boy cry into her shirt as she tried to calm him down.

"Sh," Valora cooed, "I'm sure that your dad made it out. He's a strong man, and he wouldn't die that easily. Believe me, he's going to be alright."

Duane kept crying, and showed no signs of calming down. Valora looked up to Daryl who just nodded his head, and Valora sadly smiled up to him as she made her way to the RV with Duane under her arm. She held the boy close as she guided him into the RV and into the back where the boy could lay down to calm himself down. Dale watched as Valora led the boy to the back of the RV and laid him down on the bed.

"What happened?" Dale mouthed to her.

Valora shook her head, and she rubbed the boys back. Duane was facing the wall of the RV as he held a pillow close to himself and cried into it. It brought tears to her eyes, as she watched the boy in so much pain over the loss of his father. Valora took in a deep breath and looked up in an attempt to keep the tears from falling. Her attempt had failed and she let the tears silently fall as she rubbed the boys back soothing him. Carol, and Jenner walked into the RV with their kids. Jenner sat up at the table with the kids while Destanie, and Carol came in the back and helped Valora to comfort the boy in any way possible.

Dale got the RV started, and Valora looked out of the windshield to see Daryl's motorcycle in the front leading their line of cars. Valora wiped away the tears that were beginning to dry on her cheeks, and sadly smiled to the two women sitting in the back with her. She sadly sighed as she rubbed the boys back as he was growing exhausted from crying for so long. They knew he had fallen asleep when they heard him snoring quite loudly, and Valora sat back and slightly relaxed.

"What happened?" Carol asked her.

"Him and his father were trapped by a group of walkers, and Daryl could only fit one of his bike. So Morgan got his son on the bike and stayed behind," Valora took in a deep breath, "they don't know if he made it or not because they didn't want to look back to see what had happened to him."

"That's terrible," Carol said covering her mouth with her hand, "do you think he somehow made it out?"

"We can only have hope," Valora sighed looking down at her trembling hands, "we can only hope..."

Valora was startled at the RV stopping again, and she was worried that something happened to the car. She stood up and made her way to the front to see why they had come to a stop, and she smiled really big. There was Maggie and Glenn standing outside their car. Valora stepped out of the RV and walked over to where they were talking with Daryl.

"What happened?" Valora asked.

"Ran out of gas," Glenn sighed, "to think we hadn't put more in the car."

Valora smiled, "good thing we got extra in the RV," Valora said heading back to the RV and getting a container that was mostly full with gas, "this should be enough."

"Thanks," Glenn nodded to her as he began to put fuel into the car.

After Valora went back into the RV they were back to heading to the highway. Valora was thrilled that this many people had made it out of the chaos from before, but she was saddened at who they had lost. Patricia was someone that she had gotten along with pretty well, and she was now gone. Morgan, Morgan was someone who she had only met for only a day, and she felt like she had known the man her whole life. He was someone that she had considered her best friend in this kind of world.

Before she knew it, they were driving on the road where the RV had broken down on. They were getting closer, and once they had reached the place where the RV broke down there was Hershal's orange car. Valora grinned really big when she saw Rick and Carl emerge from the opposite side of the vehicle. Hershal slowly followed behind them, and who came next completely thrilled Valora. Morgan was right behind the men.

"Duane!" Valora shouted to the boy who was still sleeping in the bed, "your dad's okay!"

The boy sat up quickly in the bed, and looked out the window to see his dad standing there by the orange car. He jumped out of the bed, and out the RV door. Valora was still sitting in the back and watched as Morgan was down on one knee as he pulled his son into a hug. Next was Lori rushing up to her husband and son. Valora smiled as she stood up and made her way out of the RV and over to the group of growing people.

"Thank god you're all okay," Valora said as she rushed over to everyone.

"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asked looking to Daryl.

"Dale, and T-dog were with everyone stopped on the side of the road," Daryl said looking to him from where he was sitting on his motorcycle, "Glenn over there didn't think to refill the tank, and they got lucky we ran into them."

"Where's everyone else?" Carol asked walking up with Sophia's hand in hers.

"Shane?" Lori asked standing up and looking to Rick.

Rick just shook his head not being able to speak, and Lori looked to the ground with sad eyes. Everyone shared a moment of silence for him.

"Patricia?" Hershal spoke out looking around for her.

"They got her too," Beth spoke out from her spot next to Hershal and Steven, "took her right from me. I was-I was holding onto her daddy. She just-"

"What about Jimmy?" Maggie asked looking around to everyone.

"He was in the truck when it got overrun," Rick swallowed hard not looking over to the Greene family.

Then Beth broke down into tears, as Hershal pulled his daughter into a tight embrace.

"The rest of us here?" Rick asked looking around to the group.

"Looks like it," Daryl said looking around making sure he was right.

"We gotta keep moving," Rick loudly said to everyone, "there'll be walkers crawling all over here."

"I say head east," T-dog said leaning against the blue truck with Jacqui at his side.

"Stay off the main roads," Daryl said as he looked over to a walker that was making their way over to them, "the bigger the road, the more walkers, the more assholes like this one. I got him," Daryl said shooting a bolt into the walkers eye.

"Let's head out," Valora breathed out as she began to walk over to the RV to grab her's and Daryl's bags. Once she had their things she walked over to the bike where Daryl was sitting on waiting for her arrival. Valora put their bags in the pouches on the sides of the bike, and sat down wrapping her arms around Daryl. The Greene's along with Steven and Glenn were in Hershal's car, T-dog and Jacqui were with Morgan and Duane in the car that Glenn and Maggie were driving in before, and everyone else were in the RV. They left behind the blue truck seeing as how bad of shape it was in, and how they knew it wasn't going to last any longer than a couple days. Daryl started his bike once he knew everyone was ready to go, and they led everyone in the direction of what they believed to be safety.

Valora blocked out the loud humming of the motorcycle and paid more attention to Daryl's heartbeat. It was a soothing rhythm that made her not think about the occasional walker they would come across on their journey. Valora sighed watching as the trees, and bushes quickly passed by, and was slowly drifting into sleep. She woke herself up not wanting Daryl to have to deal with having to wake her up because she's falling to one side.

She took in a deep breath and said, "you think we'll ever find a safe haven?" Valora said not intending for Daryl to hear it.

"I know we will," Daryl said loud enough so she could barely hear it, "I'll make it happen."

For the next three hours, the group did nothing but follow the road. They only made one stop, and that was because Lori and Valora had to eat something or they would more than likely lose their babies. Otherwise they had been traveling for the past three hours. The sound of Hershal's horn echoed through the trees, and that got the group to stop. Valora hopped off the bike and saw her son running up to them.

"You out?" Valora asked not wanting him to say yes.

"Been running on fumes for the past hour," Steven sighed not liking the answer either.

"We can't stay here," Maggie said walking up to them.

"We can't all fit in one car either," Glenn said, "have you seen how large our group is?"

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick nodded his head looking back to the group.

"Spend the night here?" Valora asked the man like he was crazy.

"I'm freezing," Carl breathed out in a jagged breath.

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori nodded to Rick as he rubbed her son's shoulders trying to warm him up.

"You go out looking for firewood, you stay close," Daryl said looking mainly to Valora, and then over to Rick, "only got so many arrows. How you doing on ammo?"

"Not enough," Rick said walking away from his son who he just gave his jacket to.

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out," Maggie slightly shouted to Rick.

"We won't," Valora said walking over to the bike and pulling out two boxes of ammo, "I kept these hidden in case something like this would happen and we would need them."

"You didn't tell us before?" Rick asked looking to her like she was insane.

"If I had told you, you would have shot them all back at the farm," Valora said looking to Rick then to the group, "these better not go too fast, or I'll be pretty pissed."

"Glenn and I can make a run for gas right now," Maggie suggested to Rick who didn't like the idea.

"No, we stay together," Rick said in a soft tone, "god forbid something happens, and people are left stranded without a car."

"Rick," Glenn said in a quiet tone to him, "we're stranded now."

"I know it looks bad," Rick said shaking his head, "we've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other. I wasn't sure- I really wasn't- but we did. We're together. We keep it that way."

Rick looked around the area searching for a good place to set up before speaking up again, "we'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place," Rick said as he turned away from the group.

Glenn took a step closer, "Rick, look around. Okay? Look, there's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."

"There's gotta be a place," Rick said trying to get everyone to side with him in believing that somewhere there was a safe haven, "no just where we hole up, but w- we fortify, hunker down, pull ourselves together, build a life for each other. I know it's out there, we just need to find it."

"Even if we do find a place," Valora said looking up to Rick, "and we think it's safe, we can never be sure for how long. That's what happened with the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking it was safe."

"We won't make that mistake again," Steven said looking harshly at his mother who was beginning to doubt there was a safe place.

"What if we never find a place?" Valora asked looking up to Rick, and the group, "what if Lori and I are going to have to give birth on the run. What are we going to do with two babies that we more than likely won't be able to support."

"We'll make it happen," Rick said taking long pauses in between his words as he stared hard at Valora before turning around, "we'll set up camp here, over there," Rick said pointing to what looked like remains of an old brick house that was pretty broken down.

"What if walkers come through?" Destanie asked stepping out from behind Dale, "or another group like the one I was with came through?"

"You know I found Randall, right?" Daryl said as he put an arm around Valora's shoulder, "he had turned but he wasn't bit."

"How's that possible?" Beth asked looking to Rick for an answer, but he wasn't able to give one.

"Rick, what the hell happened?" Lori asked looking to Rick.

"Shane killed Randall," Valora said swallowing back her fear from before, "like I told you before, Shane has snapped and he didn't plan on returning."

"And then the herd got him?" Lori asked Rick again.

"If I can say something, now would be the perfect time," Jenner said from behind Rick as he stood in front of his kids.

Rick nodded to the man and he stepped to the side letting Jenner have the spotlight, "I know, all of you will probably be very furious with me after I tell you this, but I'd better get it out now," Jenner said taking in a deep breath, "we're all infected."

The whole group looked to the man in shock, and Daryl was the only one able to speak up, "what?"

"It has something to do with the air," Jenner said, "that's how the disease spreads, through the air. Some fell ill with their immune system not being able to handle the infection, and others get it by bites. It's in the air, so when we die, we will turn."

"And you didn't tell us this before because?" Valora asked coming to her senses.

"I didn't want to cause an uproar for no reason," Jenner said, "it would be better if none of you had known about it."

"We would have figured it out one way or another with people turning after they die," Steven said to the man, "I think we'd know if they were bit or not before they pass on."

Rick looked to Jenner, and turned around to take a minute to calm his emotions. Lori quietly followed after him, wanting to find out what had happened with Shane. Valora looked up to Daryl with shock written on her face. She was scared again, this time she was scared for herself, and not for anyone else.

"That means the baby's infected," Valora said putting a hand to her stomach and looking up to Jenner with her eyes wide.

Jenner moved his eyes to glance over to her, and he slowly nodded his head. Valora brought a hand to her mouth as her breaths came in short. Black dots began to invade her vision, and he knees were going weak. The last thing she remembered was Daryl shouting her name in a panic, and then everything went black.

* * *

Valora woke up when she felt herself being moved. She slightly opened her eyes, so she could get a general idea as to where she was. She was laying down in the RV and someone was sitting on the bed next to her. She tried to make out who it was, but couldn't completely tell who it was. She could see the silhouette of the person, and they were sitting with their feet on the floor with their elbows on their knees and their head resting in their hands. Valora closed her eyes fully when she saw the silhouette move slightly. A familiar calloused hand caressed her cheek brushing strands of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear.

She heard them sigh and put their head back in their hands, "shit," the person grumbled, "why the fuck did this have to happen."

Valora slowly opened her eyes pretending that she had just woken up. She yawned quietly stretching her arms as she did so. She reopened her eyes and looked up to meet Daryl's blue eyes. She sadly smiled up to him, and reached a hand up to him. He gently grabbed her hand in his and held it on his leg. Valora sighed sitting up and leaning on him.

"It'll be okay," Valora sighed, "everything will be fine in the end. Bad beginnings always have good endings."

"Doesn't that only happen in those fairytale movie shit?" Daryl asked looking back to her.

Valora slightly smiled, "I guess so, but who knows. It could end up working for us, all of us had a rough beginning when this happened. So the people who were able to stick it out the longest are bound to be rewarded."

Daryl slightly nodded his head, "what about the baby?"

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," Valora smiled up to him, "for now, let's just focus on what's happening right now."

Daryl slightly nodded his head not knowing what else to say. Valora sat up straighter, and planted a kiss on his cheek before sitting back down and resting her head on his shoulder. The whole baby being infected was really freaking the both of them out on the inside, but they both thought for the best to keep it to themselves, and worry about it later.


	34. Rivendale

Sorry about the late update, I've just been so distracted by Skyrim. You really loose track of time when you're playing that game. Anyways, who else is super excited about February 10! I know I am! :D

* * *

"So," Valora started as she looked over to Jenner who was sitting across from her by the fire, "my baby is possibly infected?"

"Most likely, yes," Jenner said looking down to his kids that were wrapped in his jacket because of the biting winter breeze.

"So it is possible that this baby can rip me open if it somehow dies," Valora asked taking in a deep breath preparing for the worse.

Jenner hesitated as he rubbed his kids arms in an attempt to warm them up, "unfortunately, that could happen."

Valora held her head in her hands as she took in three deep breaths trying to keep herself from passing out again. She felt an arm on her shoulder, and looked to her right to see Daryl looked down at her with a worried look on his face. Valora took in one more deep breath, and shook off the nervousness in her stomach as she looked up to everyone sitting around the fire.

"No use dwelling on this any longer," Valora sighed sitting up straight, "what's done is done. All we can do is move forward."

Carol looked over to Rick who was standing a ways away from the fire, and she looked over to Daryl and spoke to him in a whisper, "why do you need him? He's only going to pull you down."

"No. Rick's done alright by me," Daryl whispered back to her knowing that Valora was listening in on their conversation.

"You're his henchmen," Carol said looking up to him, "you deserve better."

"What do you want?" Daryl asked looking at the woman with confusion.

"A man of honor," Carol said looking down to her daughter who was wrapped in Carl's coat.

"Rick has honor," Daryl said shifting into a more comfortable position.

"I think we should take our chances," Maggie said looking to Glenn for reassurance.

"Don't be foolish," Hershal said looking over to his daughter, "there's no food, no fuel, no ammo."

Everyone was startled at the noise of bushes rustling not to far away from camp. Daryl immediately wrapped an arm around Valora's shoulder and looked out into the void of darkness.

"What was that?" Beth asked holding tighter to Steven than she had been before.

"Could be anything," Steven replied not helping the situation at hand, then he made it better, "could be a raccoon, could be a possum."

"Walker," Glenn said making the group tense up again, and everyone was to their feet.

"We need to leave," Carol said as she moved closer to Jenner, "what are we waiting for?"

"Which way?" Glenn asked wanting to find to source of the noise in the darkness.

"It came from over there," Maggie said looking into the forest behind Rick who had just arrived at the fire from where he was thinking things through.

"Back where we came from," Beth said as she moved closer to Steven who had his gun in his hand as he looked into the dark void of the forest.

"Last thing we need is for everyone to go running off in the dark," Rick said shaking his head wanting everyone to stay put, "we don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot."

A branch snapped and that caused everyone to raise their guns, but Hershal said in a hushed tone, "don't panic," making everyone lower their guns, but not lower their guard.

"I'm not-" Maggie started trying to find the right words, "I'm not staying here, waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."

Rick turned to face the group, "no one's going anywhere."

"Do something," Carol said looking at the man with pleading eyes.

"I am doing something," Rick shouted in a quiet tone.

"Sh," Valora reminded him and he quieted down.

"I'm keeping this group together, alive," Rick said thrusting his gun towards the ground as he looked around to the group, "I've been doing that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people for christ's sake!"

Everyone looked to the man in shock. Not because they found out Rick was the one to kill Shane, but just that they didn't know what to say to him. No words were said, and that gave Rick the sign to continue.

"You saw what he was like," Rick said looking to the shocked faces of the group, "how he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back."

"I knew about Shane doing that," Destanie's small voice choked out as she looked to the angered face of Rick.

Rick was about to walk up to her, but Valora stood in his path with her arms across her chest, "Shane threatened to hurt her worse than he already had. If you want to so much as harm a hair on her head, you'll have to go through me to get to her."

Rick stared down to the woman for a moment before turning around and walking back. Valora turned around and walked up to Destanine and led her over to where she was standing with Daryl. Daryl narrowed his eyes down to Valora for her doing that, and she nervously shrugged her shoulders. Daryl shook his head as he looked back to Rick.

"Shane was my friend, and he came after me," Rick said with his gun back in its holster and his hands on his hips as he faced the forest, "my hands are clean."

Nobody spoke as Carls muffled cries as he cried into his mothers shirt rang through their ears. Valora looked over to Steven who was holding Beth tightly making sure that she wouldn't somehow slip away from his grasp. Then she looked back to Rick who turned back to face the group.

"Maybe you people are better off without me," Rick shook his head, "go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe- maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe- maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you- why don't you-"

"Rick," Valora said looking to the man who looked like he was on the brink of anger, and wanting to let the tears flow out, "we understand. You've done enough for this group already. Without you, we'd all be dead."

Rick looked to Valora for a second, his eyes searching for an answer, and he looked back to the group, "let's get one thing straight," Rick said his mood changing in an instant, and he was more calm and in control now, "you're staying. This isn't a democracy anymore," he looked around the group and turned around leaving back to where he was before.

Valora looked up to Daryl who still stared where Rick had stood, and then shook his head as he sat down on the ground. Valora slowly sat to the ground, and she looked over to Destanie who sat down next to here. Destanie wrapped her arms around her legs as she stared to the fire as she went deep into her mind. Valora looked up to Daryl again, and saw that he was glancing her way, and when she caught his gaze he quickly looked away.

"What's on your mind?" Valora asked tossing a stick into the fire.

"Nothing," Daryl mumbled as he pulled out his knife and began to clean his fingernails.

Valora smiled to herself, "you do a terrible job a nails," she said looking up to him from the corner of her eye to see Daryl slightly smirking to himself.

"You're right," Daryl looked down to her, "maybe I should have the master clean my nails for me then."

"Alright," Valora shrugged her shoulders scooting closer to him taking his knife from his hands, and she began to clean his nails for him.

"This is weird," Valora heard Steven mutter and she looked up to see him smirking her way, "Mom's giving Dad a manicure."

Valora laughed as she felt Daryl tense up and jerk his hands away and took the knife away from her as well, "that's no fun Steven," Valora pouted looking over to her son, "he doesn't want me to finish thanks to you."

"You're welcome," Steven smiled big getting a laugh out of everyone.

Valora glanced up to Daryl who was now using his knife to engrave swirls into the dirt. Valora smiled and looked back to the fire. She sighed as she rested her chin on her knees. She thought back to the farm, and how peaceful things were there, minus Shane. She sighed as she felt the tiredness of the day hit her in one blow, and she felt her eyelids getting heavy. She slowly closed her eyes, and opened them once more before being consumed by darkness.

* * *

"Val," Valora shot her eyes open to see Daryl in front of her, "time to wake up. Walkers are closing in, we need to get out of here."

Valora was pulled to her feet, and she looked back to see thee walkers emerging from the trees behind them. Daryl held onto her hand, and followed the group as they made their way to the cars. They had enough gas to make it to the next town. That town was their hope for gas, and they were relying on that now.

Daryl got on the bike with Valora right behind him. Daryl started up his bike, and started to drive off with the rest of the group following in toll. Valora remembered the prenatal vitamins, and reached into one of the pouches on the bike pulling out the box and opening it. Daryl glanced back to her seeing Valora pop something in her mouth, and he figured that she knew what she was taking and got his eyes back on the road.

After about a half an hour of driving they made it to the town that they hoped had gas in. Valora hopped off the bike once Daryl had pulled over and cut the engine. Daryl got off with her, and looked around as he pulled out his crossbow aiming it around them. T-dog rushed over with the container they would put the gas in, and they lucked out when they found almost enough gas to fill the RV and Hershal's orange car.

"Walkers," Maggie said pointing over to the trees where walkers were starting to notice them.

Everyone rushed to their designated vehicles and headed out. Daryl was the one making the choices on where to go for the moment. For now they had to find a place that would be safe enough to stop and talk about on where they want to go. Earlier T-dog had made it quite clear that they should head to the coast, and Daryl agreed with him, so that was where he was going to go.

Daryl had found a small house where they could stop and at least discuss where the hell they were going to go, and he pulled over. Everyone followed and got out of their cars. Daryl nodded for them to get into the house as Daryl and T-dog made sure that someone, or something wasn't following them.

"Where do we plan on going?" Andrea asked, "we can't just be on the run forever."

"I know that," Rick said as he walked away from the window he was looking out of, "if anyone has a suggestion, please speak up."

"We could go to Rivendale," Destanie spoke up as she looked to Rick, "it's where my cousins used to live. I know it isn't overrun except for the few walkers that would be inside."

"How do we know that you aren't leading us to that group you were with?" Andrea asked looking to the girl with a hand on her hip.

"I would never go back to that group," Destanie shook her head and glared hard to the woman, "they were sick people. You guys are all the family I have now, and I plan to keep you all alive."

"We can trust her," Dale said speaking up for the girl, "I trust her."

"I do too," Valora said standing up next to her.

Rick looked to the two members of his group, and shook his head looking to Destanie, "what's so special about Rivendale?"

"Rivendale is just the name of the neighborhood. It's fenced in, not crappy wood or metal fences, but brick fences. The only thing we'll have to barricade is the front gate which is metal," Destanie explained getting somewhat of Rick's attention, "there's a lake in the middle of the neighborhood, and the water is all fresh. Plus the fish that are in there, and in the front house there's a small bunker in there. There's enough food in there to last us at least nine months with the size of this group."

"Why did they have an underground shelter there?" Jacqui asked.

"In case a disaster like this happened. Nobody is in there though. That place is the first place I went to," Destanie sighed, "I had to put a bullet through my cousin's head because they had turned. I left the gate open to let out the remaining walkers."

"So the gate is just wide open?" Andrea asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No," Destanie shook her head, "I went back and made sure that nobody had taken the place about a week ago."

"Did you take anyone from your precious group there?" Rick asked making sure.

"No, I went alone. I knew that I couldn't trust that group, and I had a slight hope that I would run into a group like yours that I could trust," Destanie nodded her head, "I could entrust you with my life even if you were to stab me in the back in the end."

Rick nodded his head, and he turned around looking back out the window to see a few walkers roaming around, "Rivendale it is then."

"How do we get there?" Daryl asked with him being the one to lead the group.

"She'll have to ride with you to give you directions," Rick said looking from Destanie to Daryl, "that okay?"

Daryl nodded his head as he looked back to Valora who nodded her head to him. The group made their way back out to the cars, and Valora rode with Steven, Glenn, and the Greene's. Valroa rode in the back with Steven who held Beth close to him not wanting her to feel unsafe around him.

"How long do you think it's gonna be until we get there?" Beth asked looking over to Valroa.

Valora looked out the window, and only moved her eyes to look at Beth, "I don't know," she sighed looking down to her feet, "I just hope that it'll be a short time because I'm tired of being on the run."

* * *

For the next two weeks the group scavenges everything that they can find from every stop. Turns out Rivendale was farther away than they had expected it to be. It's in the next city from what Destanie said. She also said that it took a shorter amount of time when it was just one person, and that she didn't expect it to take this long either. Valora spent most of her time staying in the car with someone guarding her in case they'd have to get out of there quickly.

Valora was starting to get bigger as the days dragged on. It wasn't super big, just a small bump that was noticeable when she'd wear a tank-top or any other tight clothing. Lori was also getting bigger from what she had heard from Hershal on occasion. Lori had been bigger than her with her being at least a month or so ahead of her.

The back of Hershal's car opened and Valora looked to see Daryl standing there with the small amount of food they had found. Valora smiled as she scooted herself over to him, and hopped out of the car and stretching her muscles.

"You have no idea how boring it is in there," Valora yawned covering her mouth with her hand.

"You could draw a picture," Daryl smirked as Valora lightly smacked his arm, "here's what we found. Hope you like beans."

"I'd prefer a juicy steak, but beans will have to do," Valora smiled up to him and he handed her the can of beans along with a spoon he had grabbed from the RV.

"Eat up," Daryl said as he leaned on the back of the car, and Valora did the same as she ate her beans.

"You eat anything?" Valora asked as she put a spoonful of beans in her mouth, and cringed at the flavor of them.

"I ate before," Daryl said with his hands in his pockets as he kicked up some dirt.

"You know, I am a mother so I can tell whether someone is lying or not," Valora said holding the beans down on her lap as she looked over to him.

"Then why bother asking if you already know the truth?" Daryl asked glancing back to her.

"Just to see if someone will tell the truth or not," Valora sadly sighed as she ate another spoonful of beans, "you need to eat too you know. Can't protect what's yours if you don't have the energy to."

"I'm a Dixon," Daryl smirked back to her, "just cause I don't eat my beans doesn't mean I can't protect what's mine."

Valora smiled to him, "whatever you say," she shook her head with a smile still on her face, "just remember that you aren't the only Dixon in this group anymore. There's four Dixon's now."

Daryl looked back to her, and he leaned back as he planted a kiss on her lips. Valora relaxed as she set the can of beans down and wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. Daryl wrapped his arms around her waist, and he stopped one of his hands. He pulled away from the kiss and looked down to the hand that he had on her stomach.

"It's yours," Valora smiled as she rested her head on his, "we'll make it through this, together. Okay?"

Daryl looked up to her taking his eyes off of her stomach and slowly nodded his head before planting another soft kiss on her lips.

"Alright," Rick shouted from over by the RV getting their attention, "let's get ready to head out. One more day and we'll be there."

Valora grabbed the front of Daryl's shirt pulling him in for one more kiss before he had to leave. Valroa watched his back as he made his way to the bike. Steven and Beth made their way to the back of the car, and they got in after Valora had scooted back enough to give them enough room to sit down.

"Where'd you get the beans?" Steven asked raising an eyebrow.

"Daryl," Valora breathed out, and handed the can over, "I can't eat anymore. I'm not hungry, you guys share them because I'm sure that I wasn't supposed to eat them all myself."

Steven took the can, only to hand it back to her, "you need the food Mom. Dad gave that to you because you need to eat to keep the baby alive and healthy. We don't want the worse to happen."

Valora sadly sighed as she looked down to the can of beans that wasn't even half empty, "okay."

The next day they had found Rivendale. It looked like a normal neighborhood from what the could see over the brick wall. The front gate was at least ten feet tall, and had large spikes at the top. In the middle of the two large gates was a small brick room where someone would open and close the gates. The cars all stopped, and Valora eagerly watched as the gate slowly opened with hardly any noise. Everyone stared up their cars again, and made their way inside. Valora looked back to see Destanie making her way over to where they were pulling over their cars. The gate was now closed, and they were all getting out of the cars.

Everyone met over by the RV, and everyone looked to Rick for an answer, "what do we do now?" Morgan asked as he held his son close to him.

Rick looked around to the expectant faces that were all looking to him for an answer, and he took in a deep breath as he looked to the old Victorian houses that were in Rivendale, "we make a life here."


	35. Thanksgiving

"Okay everybody, we'll hold up in the first house for tonight, and then we'll begin to clear out the other houses tomorrow," Rick said eyeing everyone, "I know we've been through a lot this week, and we all just want to relax and be able to sleep without one eye open. Just one more night will have to do."

"So we're all gonna stay in one house together?" Daryl asked looking around them keeping an eye out for any unwanted guests.

"We were going to do it before," Rick shrugged his shoulders as he looked around him, "we can all live in our own houses after we make sure this place is safe."

Daryl nodded his head and looked over to the gate where there were a couple of walkers making their way over to see what was going on. Daryl nodded his head in the direction of the walkers, and everyone quickly grabbed their things from the cars and rushed to the front house that looked to be where the manager of the neighborhood lived. Once everyone was in the house Rick had T-dog and Daryl cover up the windows with the rugs that were in the front room. The rest of the group was instructed to make sure that the house was clear, and that no unwanted guests were there.

Valora was with Steven and Beth as they made their way up the stairs to make sure that it was clear. Destanie followed behind them and watched their back in case they had missed something. The made their way into the first room. Valora was the first one to step inside, and she held her gun up and aimed around the room. She looked to the closet that was closed, and remembered Glenn's number one rule about opening doors when they are closed. Don't do it.

Valora walked up to the closet door, and slowly twisted the knob. She took in a deep breath before quickly opening the door and taking a step back. Nothing but clothes were in there. She released the breath she hadn't realized that she had been holding and she turned to face them.

"All clear," Valora breathed out as she kicked the closet door shut.

"One down," Steven sighed as he squeezed Beth's hand tighter, "two more to go."

Valora followed behind the three of them, and watched behind them. They cleared out the second room, and now they were onto the third room. Steven was the one to walk into this room, and he told everyone to wait outside because he had heard a noise come from the closet. Valora held onto Beth's hand as she waited in the hall for Steven to return. Valora heard a door quickly open, then soon after a tiny squeal of pain emerged from the room. Valora quickly went in the room to see Steven's back.

"Ste-" Valora started.

"Look what I got!" Steven said turning around holding up a possum, "looks like we got ourselves a possum for dinner."

"Ew," Valora cringed holding a hand to her stomach, "I am not eating that, and neither is the baby."

Steven laughed and looked over to Beth, "more for Beth and me then."

"I love you, Steven, but... I'm not eating that either," Beth half smiled up to him, "sorry"

Steven slumped his shoulders and heavily sighed, "I'm sure that it's just dad and me that 'l eat this."

"Sadly yes," Valora sighed but smiled up to him, "at least the two of you have something in common."

"Let's go, we need to let Rick know that the second floor is clear," Steven said holding the possum over his shoulder and walking over to the door.

Valora and Beth moved out of his way, and that was when Destanie decided to walk into room, "was that a possum?"

"Yup," Valora said popping the p and walking out of the room, "let's just go."

Valora walked down the stairs with Destanie and Beth following in tow. Valora looked to the front of the house to see that all of the windows were covered with rugs, and whatever else they could find to block them off. She walked past the main room which was just a desk at the back. She assumed that this was like one of those model homes that they had so that people could come in and get a good idea of what the houses here provided. She made her way into the living room where the rest of the group was slowly making their ways into there.

"Second floor's clear," Steven said as Rick walked into the room.

"Basement is too," Daryl said adjusting the crossbow on his shoulder, "and looks like the house has it's own generator. We'll have power here so we can heat the place up if it gets too cold."

"I checked the backyard, nothing there," T-dog said as he wrapped an arm around Jacqui's shoulder.

"Where's the entrance to the shelter you were talking about?" Rick looked over to Destanie.

"Follow me," Destanie said as she walked past Rick and the two of them disappeared.

"You think we should send someone with them?" Andrea asked as she sat down on the sofa.

"You can go along," Valora said sitting down in the leather chair across from her.

The living room was probably the biggest room in the house that Valora had been in. She looked around to see the paintings of forests, and other various locations. In the room was a white sectional, and a white loveseat that looked to match the sectional. Valora sat in a black leather chair that had a pair sitting to the right of the one that she was sitting in. In the center of the two chairs and the loveseat was a glass table with remotes to the tv that hung above the fireplace on the wall opposite of the sectional. There was enough seats to seat their whole group if they fit two to a chair,

"This place is cozy," Valora mumbled to herself not intending for everyone to hear but they did with the room being as quiet as it was.

"Yeah," Dale said as he sat down next to Andrea, "as long as the rest of the houses are like this then I think we can all make ourselves at home here."

Daryl stood behind Valora's chair setting his hands on the top of the chair and leaning forward, "this place could be overrun, so don't get too comfortable."

"Look what we got!" Destanie smiled big as she carried a box into the living room followed by Rick carrying another box, "this isn't even a hundredth of what's down there."

"What's in the box?" Lori asked as she walked up to her.

"Meat," Destanie smiled big opening the box, "they had a fridge down there that was sealed off so all of this meat is still good."

"Would that happen to be steak?" Valora asked a smile growing on her face as a smile crept onto Destanie's face.

"Why yes, yes it happens to be steak," she smiled over to her, "who would like to help cook dinner tonight?"

"I'll cook the steak," Daryl shrugged his shoulders, and Destanie nodded to him.

"I'll help out with whatever else there is," Valora shrugged her shoulders standing up.

The three of them including Steven and Beth volunteered to help with dinner. Everyone else had the job of setting the table, or setting up where everyone was going to sleep for the night.

"So why'd you want to make dinner?" Valora smirked as she stood next to Daryl who was taking the meat out of the box.

"They sucked at cooking the deer last time," Daryl said setting two packs of steak on the counter, "don't want them screwing up on this when I can make it taste a hell of alot better."

Valora laughed behind her hand, "you have a weird way with things."

Daryl slightly shrugged his shoulders, and went back to taking the steak out of the box, "this should be enough for everyone."

"Is this a gas stove?" Valora asked walking over to Steven who was standing in front of the oven.

"Looks like it is," Steven said and he turned a knob causing the stove to turn on.

"Awesome," Valora smiled as she looked over her shoulder to see Daryl cutting open the steak packs with his hunting knife.

She walked up to him and put her hand on the one with the knife in it, "let's use a cleaner knife," she smiled up at him and began searching through the drawers for a knife. Once she found one she handed it over to him and he nodded to her before continuing with opening the packages of steak. Valora walked over to where Beth was unpacking the box that Rick had carried in, and saw that it was packed with frozen fruits and vegetables.

"We'll be eating like kings tonight!" Steven shouted from behind the two of them causing them both to laugh.

"Compared to what we've had to eat this is a feast," Valora smiled back to her son, and glancing to Beth who just smiled to her.

"Yeah," Beth smiled to Steven, "this should be a feast because now we have a place that is safe enough to live in."

"At least we think it is," Valroa smiled, "I'm sure that there won't be that big of a problem to deal with though."

"Yeah, there might be a few loan walkers but that should probably be it," Steven shrugged his shoulders as he looked over their shoulders to see what kind of food was in the box.

"Do the two of you plan on having your own house here? Or are you going to live with someone else?" Valora asked looking to the two of them.

"I guess we could just live together, the two of us," Steven shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm trusting you on not getting my future daughter-in-law pregnant Steven," Valora said looking through the pile of frozen fruits and vegetables.

"Don't worry mom," Steven said wrapping an arm around Beth's shoulder and smiling like a goof, "we'll be keeping it safe."

Valora laughed and covered her face with her hand, "I don't think I'm ready to talk about these things with my son. Give me s day or two and I'll be fine."

"Hey," Steven shrugged his shoulders, "look on the bright side, at least with this happening we found people that we care deeply for."

"That is true," Valora warmly smiled feeling Daryl's gaze on her, "without this happening all of us most likely wouldn't even know each other. I'm glad that I've gotten to know everyone, including Shane, thought I didn't like him that much, I'm sure he was a good man before this all happened."

"Yeah," Steven sighed, but breathed out, "let's not dwell too much on the past, it's depressing. Let's just focus on the task at hand as of now. Making dinner fit for a king."

"Let's do that," Valora smiled glancing over to Daryl who quickly looked back to the steak when he knew she looked his way.

Valora smiled to herself as she ripped open a bag of mixed vegetables to put in the oven. She put the vegetables in a bowl that was safe to put in the oven and she leaned on the counter and looked over to Daryl.

"It's nice," Valora breathed out looking over to the dining room where Jacqui and Lori were extending the table.

"What is?" Daryl asked glancing up to her from the steak he was seasoning with the spices he found in the cabinets.

"Being able to have everyone here for dinner like this," Valora slightly laughed, "it almost reminds me of when our family got together for Thanksgiving."

"According to Dale Thanksgiving is almost here," Steven said jumping into the conversation.

"Really?" Valora asked raising an eyebrow, "well we can call this our Thanksgiving feast then. Did they have any wine or anything in the house?"

"I don't think so," Steven said furrowing his brows together, "but I'll go and ask Destanie."

Valora looked back to Daryl who had all of the steak seasoned and ready for the oven. Daryl walked over to the oven and started cooking it. Valora leaned on the counter next to the oven and sighed as she looked down to her feet thinking about the past.

"What's on your mind?" Daryl asked looking up from what he was doing.

"Just thinking about my family," Valora sighed as she pulled herself up so she could sit on the counter, "my grandparents probably made a stand at their place because my uncle has a disability so he can't move fast like everyone else. My mom, she was a survivalist. Always planning ahead. My guess would be that she's out there somewhere, surviving in some sort of way."

"You think she's out there? Surviving in some sort of way?" Daryl asked glancing up to her.

"Yeah, somehow," Valora sighed, "I try not to think about it much though."

"Why haven't you gone to look for her?" Daryl asked her.

"I was scared," Valora shakily sighed.

"Of what?" he raised an eyebrow at her response.

"I was scared that she wouldn't be okay, and what I would find is something I don't want to see," Valora looked up to him, "I was scared that she'd be a walker, or dead."

Daryl was quiet for a minute before speaking, "I lost my mom and dad when this started. Don't think about it much though."

"The past is full of many depressing things," Valora said kicking one of her legs as she looked to Daryl.

"Good things too," Daryl nodded his head, "I did meet you, and the group."

Valora smiled, "yeah, good things too."

"Don't focus much on the bad things, and more on the good things," Daryl said looking up to her, "it's how I get through these shitty days now. I just look back to better days."

Valora smiled, "I'll have to do that from now on."

"Mm," Daryl nodded his head not knowing what else to say, and then he thought for a second before speaking up, "I'm sure your moms out there, somewhere."

Valora smiled to him, "thanks," she said leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, "I love you."

Daryl stopped cooking the steak and grabbed the back of her neck pulling her in for a kiss. Valora wrapped her arms around his neck deepening the kiss, and he pulled away resting his head on hers. She smiled to him when the corners of Daryl's mouth slightly turned up in a small smile.

"They had some!" Steven shouted as he walked in the kitchen holding a bottle of wine above his head with three more bottles in his other arm, "it's the good stuff, too!"

Daryl pulled himself away from her when he heard Steven shout, and Valora smiled looking over to Steven. Steven walked over to her, and handed her a bottle. She smiled big and patter her son on the shoulder.

"This is good," she smiled looking down to the bottle in her hands, "Zinfandel, this is the best kind to have with Steak."

"Destanie was the one to pick them out of the wine cellar in the house next to us," Steven nodded his head.

"Wait wait wait," Valora said setting the wine down and holding a hand up, "you went next door?"

"It was her cousins house, and she knew they had a wine cellar," Steven nervously laughed rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, "I didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"You could have-" Valora started.

Daryl cut her off by taking the wine out of Steven's hand, "thanks, you should go check on everyone, dinner's almost done."

Steven nodded to Daryl and left the kitchen. Valora looked to Daryl like he was insane for letting it slide that her son had just gone out of the house and into the open where he could have been killed all for just four bottles of wine.

"Are you crazy? He could have been killed out there, and you just want to let it slide?" Valora asked shouting in a whisper.

"He came back, didn't he?" Daryl asked her setting the wine on the counter.

"But he went out there-" Valora started.

"No buts," Daryl said looking over to her, "he came back, that's all that matters."

Valora sighed and set her head in her hands, "you two are going to be the death of me."

Daryl chuckled slightly, "my mom said the same thing to Merle and me."

Valora laughed, "I wonder why," she smirked hopping off the counter.

Valora opened the oven to see that the mixed vegetables were done cooking, and that Daryl was now done cooking the steak. She smiled grabbing the bowl from the oven with oven mitts, and heading to the dining room. Everyone was sitting down at the table awaiting the food that you could smell throughout the house. Valora set the vegetables on the table and watched as everyone almost drooled over them.

It was when Daryl walked into the dining room with the steak that it really got her. It was almost like they were about to kill each other for first pick of the steak. Valora held back her laughter as she went and sat down next to her son. Steven was a little uneasy at first but eased up when Valora smiled at him warmly. Not one of those 'you and I will talk later' kind of smiles.

"Who wants first pick?" Daryl asked not caring who chose first either way.

"How about Destanie?" Valora suggested, "she's the one who led us here in the first place. She should get first pick."

"Oh, no," Destanie said holding her hands up in front of her, "I'm fine. You guys go ahead and take what you want. I'll just eat what everyone else doesn't want."

"Destanie," Valora smiled to her, "you're family now. You should get first choice every once and awhile like everyone else."

Destanie looked unsure at first, but she grabbed her fork and chose the steak on top of the pile of steak. Valora smiled to her, and the plate of steak was passed around the table. Once everyone had a steak Daryl came back from the kitchen with the four bottles of wine that Steven and Destanie had gotten.

"Where'd you guys find the wine?" Rick laughed.

"Found them in the kitchen," Valora smiled to him, "to think they'd have good wine like this here."

"No kidding," Andrea said smiling as she held a bottle Daryl handed to her, "this is the best stuff to have with steak."

"Maybe they saved it just for us," T-dog laughed as he took the bottle that Andrea handed to him.

"Maybe," Jacqui smiled as she held her glass for T-dog to pour wine in her glass.

After everyone had food on their plate and wine/juice in their glasses Dale stood up, "according to my trusty watch, we're only a couple of days away from Thanksgiving. Let's go around and share one thing that we're grateful for. I'm grateful for everyone here to be alive and well."

"I'm grateful for this wine," Andrea said holding her glass up.

"I'm grateful that Jacqui finally realized how much of an amazing man I am," T-dog grinned over to her and she elbowed him in the side.

"I'm grateful for the good health of everyone in the group," Jacqui smiled to everyone.

"I'm grateful that we found your group when we did,' Morgan nodded his head to mostly Valora and Glenn.

"I'm grateful for Steven teaching me about guns, and how to clean them," Duane nodded his head to Steven.

"I'm grateful for my daughter being here," Carol smiled to her daughter sitting next to her.

"I'm grateful that Carl made it out of his coma okay," Sophia said in a quiet tone which got all of the adults to smile.

"I'm grateful for my two kids to have lived, and that you guys had run into me before the lab exploded," Jenner nodded mostly to Valora as a thanks for what she did for him.

"I'm grateful for everyone," Melanie smiled big as she sat as high as she could in her chair.

"I'm grateful for my dad being okay," Kayden nodded his head reassuring that that was what he was grateful for.

"I'm grateful for my wife and son being alive and safe," Rick said, "and for the group making it as far as we have."

"I'm grateful for my son making it out of the coma, and for my husband cheating death," Lori smiled in her husband's direction.

"I'm grateful for everyone being okay after what happened at the farm," Carl said as he stared blankly at the food on his plate.

"I'm grateful that both of my daughters are safe and healthy," Hershal said looking to Maggie and Beth.

"I'm grateful that I met Glenn, and that my family is safe," Maggie smiled .

"I'm grateful that you dumbasses haven't gotten us killed yet," Glenn smirked getting a laugh out of everyone, "but I really am grateful, and for meeting Maggie."

"I'm grateful that I met Steven, and that my family is safe," Beth smiled looking to Steven.

"I'm grateful for the fact that I'm going to be an older brother, and that I finally have someone who I can call dad," Steven smiled looking over to Daryl who just shook his head.

"I'm grateful for the health of everyone, and that we will all be able to make this a good place to live," Valora smiled nodding her head, "and that I met you all."

Daryl stayed quiet, and nobody was going to make him talk. So it was time for Destanie to say what she was grateful for.

"I'm grateful that we ran into your group, though we were shooting at you guys first," Destanie nervously rubbed the back of her neck, "it wouldn't have been long before the group would have found out about me being a girl, and they would have done bad things... I'll just be quiet, let's just enjoy that we're all here and alive."

"Happy Thanksgiving!" everyone shouted as they held their glasses in the air before taking a drink and ate their feast.


	36. Suprise

"No mom," Steven said looking down to his determined mother, "you are not going to help clear out the houses. It's not safe."

"I'll have you guys there to make sure that nothing happens," Valora said looking up to her son, "I can be of use. I don't want to just sit back and watch as everyone else does the hard work."

"Mom," Steven said his tone stern, and he wasn't going to back down, "you are not going out there."

Valora opened her mouth to speak when Daryl stepped into the room, "you're staying here," Daryl said looking at her with his eyes showing no emotion telling Valora that he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Valora sighed and grumbled before walking over to the sectional to sit down, "fine," she blew out crossing her arms over her chest, "you win."

"That's a first," Steven said shock on his face but he shook it off and smiled down to his angered mother, "thanks mom," Steven rushed over and kissed the top of her head, "we'll be back before you know it."

"You better," Valora sighed warmly smiling up to her son, and glanced behind him to see Daryl turned around, "I think I'll go insane having to stay here with Lori all day."

Steven chuckled, "love you mom," and he turned around walking out the door and patting Daryl on the shoulder, "she's all yours now."

Daryl turned around and saw Valora staring at him, and he nodded to her, "won't be long."

"Stay safe," Valora said worry etched in her voice, "I don't want anything happening to either of you, to anybody."

"We'll all be fine," Daryl said his voice calm as he walked into the room and sat down next to Valora, "I'll make sure of it."

"I trust you," Valora smiled putting her hand on his arm, "I just can't help but worry somewhat."

Daryl wrapped his arm over her shoulder and pulled her in close. He rubbed Valora's arm as he leaned his head on hers. Valora sighed as she closed her eyes resting her head on his chest.

"I love you," Valora said barely above a whisper.

Daryl kissed the top of her head, "I love you."

Valora smiled and lifted her head to look into his blue eyes. She smiled up to him before he leaned his head closer to hers, and their lips crashed together in a kiss full of meaning. Full of love, and passion. Daryl pulled away kissing her one more time before standing up. Valora held onto his hand until he was out of arm's length. She watched as he disappeared out the door. She sighed as she looked down to her stomach. She put a hand to her stomach that was growing bigger by the day. She smiled to herself as she softly moved her hand in a circle on her stomach.

"To think now of all times I'd get pregnant," Valora sighed as she looked up to the door where she last saw Daryl and she chuckled, "I'm glad though. It's gotten a certain someone a little overprotective."

"He's a good man," Valora looked behind her to see Carol standing there.

"I didn't know anybody else was here," Valora said holding a hand over her heart trying to keep it from beating really fast.

"Daryl," Carol said leaning against the door frame "he's a good man. He was just... confused when he first came to this group. Didn't know how to care for someone, but you changed him. You taught him how to love."

"You sound like you were his mother at one point," Valora slightly laughed as Carol moved to sit on the other side of the sectional across from her.

Carol laughed as she wrapped her shawl around her before she sat down, "having kids makes you see that in people. I'm guessing you saw something like that in Merle, and that's why you weren't afraid to talk to him."

"Yeah," Valora sighed, "Daryl told me how Merle became interested in drugs when he was removed from the military. He got his brother to stop, but then it started back up again when this happened. I only knew that something happened to make him do that because my son was addicted when he somehow found some when we were on a supply run."

Carol looked to Valora with wide eyes and Valora sadly shook her head, "he lost his aunt the week before, and I guess that was something he wanted to use to get rid of the sadness welling up inside him. That's what I saw in Merle. You look into their eyes, and that's how you can understand a man."

"How do you do that?" Carol asked.

"I don't know, you just look into their eyes, and you somehow see it. See that emotion that they are too afraid to show," Valora shook her head, "it could just be me, but when I saw Merle's eyes, they reminded me of Steven's eyes. I saw the same sadness that Steven had in his eyes, the same anger, they almost brought me to tears."

Carol slowly nodded her head not knowing what else to say, and Valora went on, "I felt like I could help him somehow. He seemed like he was comfortable around me. He could open up to me and I wouldn't criticize him for it."

"It's true," Carol smiled.

"What?" Valora asked slightly confused.

"About people being able to open up to you, and not being afraid of criticism," Carol smiled, "the rest of the group knew about what Ed did to me, but you were the first person I actually opened up to about it. Glenn, Carl, Steven, Daryl, Merle, you've had almost everyone come to you for help on personal things. It's because they know you won't think any different of them."

Valora nodded her head, "you really think so?"

Carol nodded her head with a smile, "it's true."

Then Lori walked in and looked to Carol and then her eyes landed on Valora, "you need something?" Valora asked in a nice tone.

"I'm out of the prenatal vitamins, do you have any more?" Lori asked as she put a hand on the back of her neck feeling a little awkward.

"Yeah, they're in my bag," Valora said standing up, "I'll go get them for you."

Valora stood up and walked up the stairs into the room that Valora and Daryl shared the night before. Valora sighed grabbing her bag out from under the bed. She set the bag on the bed and unzipped it. She reached into the bag pushing the many packs of unopened cigarettes and grabbing a box of prenatal vitamins. Valora sipped the bag and turned around to see Lori standing there.

"Here you are," Valora smiled handing Lori the box, "your vitamins."

"I was just wondering," Lori said with her eyebrows furrowed together, "I'm not meaning to sound rude or anything, but I think you're bigger than me."

Valora raised an eyebrow, "excuse me?"

"I mean your stomach," Lori lifted her shirt to show her stomach with a slight bump, "lift your shirt."

Valora lifted her shirt and stood next to Lori, and the woman was right, "does this mean that there is something wrong with my baby?" Valora asked getting a little worried as she looked down to her stomach seeing that it was quite larger than Lori's.

"Or somethings wrong with mine," Lori said holding a hand to her mouth.

"We need to find Hershal," Valora said looking up to Lori whose face was starting to pale.

"He went with the men to clear out the houses," Lori said, "they won't be back until at least an hour before it's dark outside."

"Jenner?" Valora asked feeling slight hope.

"I think he stayed," Lori said pulling her shirt down, and turning to the door, "let's not waste anytime looking for him if he's here."

Valora followed behind her wanting to find someone that would know what's going on with the both of them and their babies. Valora followed closely behind Lori as the both of them looked in the other two bedrooms upstairs. No sign of either of them. They both headed down the stairs quickly which got Carol worried and she stood up facing the two of them.

"What's wrong?" Carol asked fearing the worst.

"L-L-Lori, she's smaller than me, and she's at least four weeks or so ahead of me," Valora said with her eyes closed trying to process what she should say.

Carol raised an eyebrow, "let me see."

Lori and Valora lifted their shirts to show that Valora was bigger than Lori. The two women looked up to Carol expecting her to answer quickly as they were in a hurry to find Jenner or someone who knew what was wrong with them.

Carol slightly chuckled and Valora and Lori looked at her like she was crazy, "what's funny?" Valora asked feeling worried even more.

"Nothing is wrong with either of you," Carol waved her hand.

"Then what's wrong?" Lori asked sliding her shirt down.

"It's just that Valora's got another bun in the oven," Carol smiled.

"W-wh-what..." Valora stuttered holding a hand up, "y-you mean I'm having more than one baby?"

"Looks like it," Carol nodded her head.

"Oh my god," Valora said slowly walking over to the couch to sit down, "I can't believe it."

"Congrats," Carol smiled sitting down next to the shocked woman, "you're having another baby."

"How many am I having?" Valora asked looking to Carol who seemed to have all of the answers.

Carol laughed, "we won't be sure of that until you have to give birth."

Valora sighed, "who knew I'd miss technology so much right now," Valora looked down to her feet, "any guess?"

"I bet you'll have twins," Carol smiled, "identical twins. Wanna take a guess Lori?"

Lori pursed her lips together, "fraternal twins."

"It's a bet then?" Valora smiled.

Carol held her hand out to Lori, "what are we betting on?"

Lori grasped the woman's hand, "whoever's right doesn't have to do laundry for a week."

"Deal," Carol smiled shaking her hand.

"I don't get to be part of the bet?" Valora frowned because she wanted a week out of doing laundry.

"You're what the bets about," Carol smiled, "therefor you cannot join in on the bet."

"Fine," Valora huffed resting her head in her hands, "are they going to be back soon?"

Carol laughed, "they just left ten minutes ago. I don't think they'll be back for a while."

Valora sighed falling back so she hit the back of the couch, "this is going to be a long day," she grumbled looking up at the ceiling.

"We could cook," Carol suggested.

"No," Lori shook her head, "we don't know how much of the food that we should take."

"What's it gonna hurt?" Valora smiled sitting up and she slowly stood up, "let's make them a meal to celebrate."

"Let's do it," Carol smiled standing up next to her.

"So where's Sophia, and the rest of the kids?" Valora asked as they walked through the kitchen.

"They're in the basement," Carol said as the were now in front of the basement door, "Daryl said they had a lot of kids toys, and books down there. Don't know why."

Valora nodded her head, "that's slightly odd, but oh well."

They walked down the stairs and turned the corner to see Kayden running around the room with a plane in his hand. Valora smiled as she looked over to Sophia and Melanie playing with dolls. Carl was sitting in the chair with his arms over his chest and an angry look plastered on his face. Valora slightly chuckled to herself as they walked by the kids and to the door that led to where the food was stored. Morgan was sitting in a beanbag chair reading some of the comics that were in there.

Valora opened the door and her mouth dropped to the ground at how big the room was. It was the same height as the ceiling in the other room, but it was three times larger than the 10x12 room that the kids were in. Valora whistled as she walked into the room.

"I didn't think Rick meant that there was this much food down here," Valora said walking over to where there were boxes labeled cans.

"No kidding," Carol said looking around the room, "and Destanie said that this was only going to last us at least nine months."

"If we ration right then this should last us two years at the very least," Valora said pulling a box off the shelf only to have it taken away from her.

"Don't strain yourself," Carol smiled to her, "you can carry the lighter things. I can handle the heavier things."

Valora sighed knowing that the woman was right, "all right," then Valora looked over Carol's shoulder to see a small figure standing at the door, "hey Melanie."

"What are you guys doing in here?" Melanie asked not moving from the carpet in the other room, "daddy said that we weren't supposed to go in there."

"We're making a surprise dinner," Valora smiled, "as long as adults are in here with you, you can come in here."

"Are you sure?" Melanie asked still unsure of entering the room.

"It'll be okay sweetie," Carol smiled back to the little girl.

"Okay," Melanie smiled rushing into the room, "do you want me to carry anything?"

"Let's find something that you can carry," Valora smiled looking around the room browsing the engorged shelves.

Valora looked around and put a hand to her chin as she was coming up with different things that they could make for dinner.

"I found the fridge," Carol said getting Valora's attention.

Valora walked over to Carol who set the box down next to her and she crouched down looking to the grey door that was on the floor.

"That's an odd place for a fridge," Valora said tilting her head to the side as she walked over next to Carol.

"How do we open it?" Carol asked not seeing a handle on the door.

"Right here!" Melanie shouted pointing to the twistable handle in the door.

"Good job," Valora said walking over to her and squatting down to open the door. She twisted the handle and the door popped up slightly and cold air rushed by their feet. Valora shivered slightly as she pushed the door up with the help of Carol. She looked to see a ladder going down and Valora looked over to Carol.

"I'll go down," Carol said, "we don't want you getting sick. So what do we need?"

"Let's have Chicken Alfredo tonight," Valora smiled, "that sounds good."

"I agree," Carol smiled as she moved to climb down the ladder and into the fridge.

Valora left the door open as she looked down and into the fridge. After a couple minutes Carol was climbing back up the ladder and she was carrying two bags of frozen chicken breasts. Valora smiled as Carol shivered dropping the chicken to the ground.

"That sucked," Carol shakily breathed out.

Valora chuckled as she closed the fridge door, "so how much frozen food is down there?"

"A lot," Carol said nodding her head.

"That must be a lot," Valora said sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Oh be quiet," Carol said picking up the box of canned food, "you get the chicken."

"I'll carry one!" Melanie shouted running up to one of the bags and picking it up. The little girl struggled to hold it at first, but finally figured a way that was easier to carry it. Valora smiled grabbing the other bag and following behind the now six-year-old, according to her, making sure that she wouldn't fall carrying the bag that was half her size.

She closed the door behind her and made her way up the stairs and into the kitchen. She set the bag of chicken on the counter and grabbed the bag that Melanie was carrying and set it next to the other one.

"Thank you for the help Melanie," Valora smiled down to the little girl.

"You're welcome," Melanie smiled up to her, "can I help make the surprise dinner?"

Valora looked over to Carol who shrugged her shoulders, "why not?"

"Yay!" Melanie shouted.

Valora laughed and smiled over to Carol who was laughing to herself, "so what do we start with?" Valora said clapping her hands together and rubbed them.

"We should probably thaw the chicken out first," Carol said walking over to where the chicken was.

* * *

Daryl and Steven were in front of their third house they were assigned to clear out. The last two hadn't been a problem at all. No walkers so far. They had taken two hours to get through the two of them, and they planned on getting through this house in less time. Daryl went through the front while Steven went in through the back.

Daryl slowly reached down for the doorknob to see that it was locked. Daryl pulled out his knife and unlocked it by jamming it into the lock and twisting it. He twisted the doorknob and slowly moved inside. It was an open house, almost no walls in there. He took a few steps inside, and he heard movement to the right of him. With his crossbow loaded and him ready to fire he headed into the living room where the sound came from.

The sound was coming from behind the sofa in the living room, and Daryl slowly approached the sofa. He held his finger on the trigger as he pulled out his flashlight to see behind the sofa. He slowly moved over to the wall and put his back against it as he looked down to behind the sofa. He aimed his flashlight behind the sofa, and fired the crossbow. A bold landed square in the forehead of a possum.

"What was that?" Steven whispered walking into the living room.

"Possum," Daryl said looking over to him and reaching for the possum behind the couch, "looks like we got ourselves some dinner."

Steven laughed, "you know what mom'll say if you call that dinner?'

"'I'm not gonna eat that, and neither is the baby'," Daryl laughed to himself.

"Nailed it," Steven laughed watching as Daryl shoved the possum into his back pocket.

"Don't know how many times she's told me that about everything that I catch," Daryl shrugged his shoulders picking his crossbow back up.

"I'd say at least twenty times," Steven laughed looking around the room, "this place reminds me of my old house. Maybe you and mom could move in here, I'm sure that she'd like the place. It'd feel like home."

"Nah," Daryl shook his head and began to reload his crossbow.

"Why not?" Steven asked.

"She said that she's had nightmares about what happened to your aunt," Daryl said looking up to Steven who tensed up, "I just think that it'd be better if we start fresh. Somewhere that'll be good for the kid."

Steven nodded his head, "Beth and I'll have to move in the house next door. Maybe you guys'll be able to become grandparents."

Daryl laughed, "I'm sure your mother would love that."

Steven smiled, "not yet though. I want to make sure that the place we live is completely safe."

"Things happen son," Daryl shrugged his shoulders picking up his now loaded crossbow, "your mother and I weren't planning on having a kid when it happened."

Steven laughed, "I would have never guessed."

"Screw you," Daryl glared to the boy.

"C'mon, let's just clear the house," Steven laughed, "the faster we clear these out, the faster we get back."

Daryl nodded his head, and the two of them made their way up the stairs to make sure that the house was clear.

* * *

Rick, Hershal, and Morgan were going through their fourth house that they were assigned. They had three more houses to go through, and it was getting closer to dark. Hershal kept an eye on the outside of the house while Morgan and Rick went through the house.

"When do you think we'll get back?" Morgan whispered to Rick as they made their way to the last room in the house.

"Probably around dark at least," Rick said looking behind him, and then back to their destination, "at the pace we're going."

Morgan nodded his head and looked back to the closed door to the last room in the house. Rick slowly turned the knob, and the door wouldn't open. It wasn't locked, but it was stuck. Something on the other side was jamming it. Rick looked back to Morgan who had worry plastered on his face. Morgan swallowed hard before nodding for Rick to move out of the way. Morgan put his gun in the back of his pants, and took in a deep breath. Morgan rammed his shoulder into the door making it pop out of place.

Morgan rubbed his arm, and looked into the room to see nothing in there. A chair had been blocking the door. Rick stepped into the room looking around not seeing anything in there.

"Something had to have blocked that from in here," Rick said looking around the room with a wary eye.

Morgan rolled his shoulder before pulling his gun back out, and cocking it just in case. The room looked like it had belonged to a teenager. A teenage boy to be exact. The only way they could tell was with all of the playboy girl posters hanging around the room. Something fell to the floor in the closet, and Rick turned on his heels immediately aiming his gun to the closet.

"Shit..." something muttered from in the closet.

Rick took a step closer to the closet, "we know you're in there."

"No shit," a muffled voice grumbled from inside the closet.

"Come out," Rick demanded.

The closet door slowly opened to reveal a teenage boy with the skater boy kind of look. The teenager held up his hands as he slowly stood up while nervously laughing.

"Hey," the kid awkwardly said, "nice to meet you two."

"Who are you?" Morgan asked holding his gun tighter as he looked to the worry on the teenagers face.

"A-Ashton, Ashton Sykes," the boy held his hands up, "p-please don't kill me. I-I'm really no threat at all. I've been here since the world went to shit. I-I'm only nineteen man."

Rick looked the boy up and down and looked over to Morgan, "why were you hiding?"

"Wouldn't you hide if three guys with guns broke into your house and you had nothing to defend yourself with?" the boy asked not joking at all as sweat rolled down his face, "please, I-I'm not ready to die yet. Not like this at least."

Rick breathed in and out heavily through his nose before putting his gun down as he looked to the ground, "you're coming with us," Rick said walking over to the boy.

"Thank you," the boy sighed in relief.

"You got to wear these though," Rick said holding up the cuffs.

Ashton held out his hands, "whatever you want. Just as long as you promise not to kill me."

Rick raised an eyebrow and he turned the boy around and cuffed the boys hands. Morgan watched as Rick led the boy out of the room. Morgan kept his gun out as he followed the two of them down the stairs with it aimed to the ground. He looked around the house one last time before heading out the front door.

"Morgan," Rick said getting the man's attention, "looks like we're going back a little earlier than expected."

"I'm cool with that," Morgan shrugged his shoulders getting a slight laugh from Rick.

"Who's this?" Hershal asked as the three of them left the house.

"Ashton Sykes," the boy smiled, "nice to meet you."

* * *

"Is that Rick?" Valora asked as she peeked out the window in the room Daryl and she was sleeping in. She saw that they had an extra member with them, and Valora quickly pulled her shirt on and headed down the stairs. Lori and Carol were still in the kitchen talking to each other, and they stopped talking when they heard the front door opening.

Rick was stepping inside with Hershal, followed by an unfamiliar face with Morgan in the back. The three woman stared at the boy that wasn't here before and they all looked to Rick with the same question running through their minds.

"I'm Ashton Sykes," the boy smiled, "nice to meet you ladies."

"Come with us," Rick said nodding for Morgan to follow him.

Once the three of them were gone Valora looked to Hershal, "what was that about?"

"Beats me," the old man shrugged his shoulders.

"Can I ask you something?" Valora asked him.

"What is it?" he asked looking down to her.

"Is there some way that you can tell how many kids someone is having without an ultrasound?" Valora asked still looking up the stairs where Morgan and Rick went to with Ashton.

Hershal raised an eyebrow, "why do you ask?"

"Carol thinks that I'm having twins," Valora said looking back to Carol.

"She's larger than I am, and I'm sure that I'm at least a month ahead of her," Lori said walking over to her side.

"Let me see," Hershal said turning his body to face to two women.

Lori and Valora lifted their shirts and Hershal looked at their stomachs. The two of them before they were pregnant were about the same size, except for Valora being at least four inches shorter. Hershal nodded his head and looked to her.

"Looks like you got twins," Hershal nodded his head, "I'm sure that there's only two in there. Your stomach would be larger if there were more than two."

"So, I'm having twins?" Valora asked just to make sure.

Hershal nodded his head and put a hand on her shoulder, "congratulations."

"How am I gonna tell Daryl?" Valora asked looking back to Carol who smiled wide.

"I've got a great idea," she smiled.

Valora stared at her for a minute expecting her to respond, "well, how do I tell him?"

"Announce it at dinner," Carol smiled, "tell everyone that you have some exciting news, and then tell everyone."

"Are you crazy?" Valora asked her, "that'll be crazy embarrassing, for both of us."

Carol shook her head, "even if it is embarrassing, you'll be happy you did it in the end."

Valora took in a deep breath, "are you sure about this?"

"Positive," Carol nodded her head.

Valora sighed, "okay, I'll do it."

Carol smiled really big, "then we have to make this dinner extra special in celebration!"

Valora smiled at Carol and nodded her head, "yes we do."

* * *

It was getting dark outside as Maggie, Glenn, Beth, and Destanie made their way back to the main house after they cleared the houses they were assigned. The quickly ran down the street, only a block away from the house. Destanie looked around the corner to see three walkers banging up against the gate. She quickly pulled her head back to hiding behind the house, and she shook her head looking to Glenn, and the Greene sisters.

"Three walkers, on the other side of the gate," she shook her head trying to catch her breath after their long run to get where they were, "I'm afraid that they'll attract more walkers where they are if we just run across the street."

"Then what do you suggest?" Maggie panted.

"We take the long way," Destanie pointed to the house across from them, "that house is clear, we all know that thanks to Rick having everyone go through all of these houses around the main one."

"Okay," Glenn nodded his head, "what do we do after we get in the house?"

"Go to the next one, then we cross the street once we're far enough away that those walkers won't notice us," Destanie nodded her head, "looks like we'll be getting to dinner a little later than normal."

"Great," Glenn rolled his eyes as the four of them quickly crossed the street, and rushed into the house.

* * *

T-dog, Jenner, Jacqui, Dale, and Andrea were rushing to get back to the house when they ran into Glenn, Beth, Maggie, and Destanie. They motioned for the three of them to hush up, and they pointed to the front gate where there were now more walkers gathering.

"Something over there is getting their attention," Destanie whispered.

"Could they be cooking outside?" Beth suggested.

"No, I'm sure that they wouldn't be that stupid," Destanie shook her head, "they must be cooking, and the smell is somehow reaching them."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" Andrea asked looking to the girl with wide eyes.

"Somehow get to the house without getting noticed," Destanie shrugged her shoulders, "what else can we do?"

"We can't just go over there," Andrea shouted in a whisper, but was shushed by T-dog and she spoke in a quieter tone, "they'll definitally know we're over there if that house is what they are paying more attention to."

"She's got a point," Jenner nodded his head somewhat agreeing with what Andrea was saying, "we can't just go over there unnoticed."

"Would you rather sleep out in the cold where you can get frostbite, or only have five walkers to deal with?" Destanie asked, and nobody spoke leaving a long and awkward pause, "that's what I thought."

"Then what do we do?" Andrea asked not liking the way that Destanie was acting like she was the leader of their group.

"Get to the house," Destanie shrugged her shoulders, "not that hard. I'm surprised that you wouldn't be able to figure that out by yourself."

Andrea was about to talk back to her but Dale put his hand on her shoulder telling her not to make it worse, "I meant what's the plan? How do we get to the house going unnoticed?"

"We just need to get to the gate, and take out the five walkers," she shrugged, "then we don't have to worry about them."

"You sound like it's going to be easy as pie," Andrea said looking to Destanie who smirked to herself.

"I guess it might be for someone of your intellectual level," she smirked to herself when Andrea's face fumed with anger, "let's go, I'm getting hungry."

They made their way through the houses, and they ended up next to the brick wall by the gate. Destanie looked back to T-dog who had an axe that was from the arsnl that Carl had stumbled upon before and she held her hand out for him to hand it to her. She smiled to herself as she walked up to the gate. She held the axe out so that it would barely tap each bar as she walked by. The first walker didn't take notice to her until the axe was already lodged into it's brain. She pulled the axe out of the walkers head with a slosh, and she looked to see the other four walkers taking notice to her.

"C'mon you ugly fuckers," she smiled to herself as a walker got closer to her, and she swung the axe landing right in the middle of the walkers face.

She took care of the last three in the same manner without wasting a bullet. She panted swinging the axe over her shoulder and looking back to the stunned group of people on the other side of the street. She waved to them to come over, and the group quickly hustled over to the other side of the street.

"Get in the house quickly," Destanie whispered once they were within earshot.

* * *

Daryl and Steven had just watched Destanie take out the five walkers at the front gate by herself. Steven raised an eyebrow and looked to Daryl for an answer, but the man just shrugged his shoulders. Daryl nodded and the two of them rushed over, and made it to the house before they locked up.

"Everyone get their houses cleared?" Rick asked walking down the stairs.

"We got all of ours cleared," T-dog said as he looked over to Andrea, "took a while though."

"That's great," Rick nodded his head looking over to Glenn.

"All clear," Glenn nodded his head.

"Good," Rick nodded his head finally looking over to where Daryl and Steven were just now entering the house, "what about you two? Your houses clear?"

"Yup," Steven nodded his head, "the only thing we have to worry about is the possum infestation in one of the houses."

"Hey, it'll be a good thing that they're there if we run out of food," Rick smiled mainly looking over to the women who were shaking their head with scrunched up faces.

"No way am I eating a possum, ever," Maggie shook her head, "nasty."

"Dinner's ready!" Valora shouted from the kitchen. Everyone looked to each other before shrugging their shoulders and heading into the dining room. Once everyone was seated Valora stepped into the room holding a giant bowl.

"Hope you like Chicken Alfredo," she smiled setting the bowl of noodles, followed by Carol with the Alfredo sauce.

"Thanks for the dinner," Rick smiled as the two women sat down, and muffled thanks came from everyone around the table.

"It was no big deal," Valora smiled, "it was Carol's idea that we made dinner. To help celebrate what we hope to be a new life that we can all start here."

"Couldn't have said it better," Rick smiled holding his glass up when Lori offered to pour him some of the leftover wine from the night before. Valora looked next to her to see Daryl pouring some wine into a glass and he passed the bottle to his left to Steven. Valora took in a deep breath before she stood up and clinked her spoon on her glass.

"I'd like to make an announcement," Valora said in a nervous voice as everyone looked over to her, and she took in a deep breath before smiling, "we're having twins."

Daryl choked on the wine that he was drinking, and he set the glass on the table. He held a hand over his mouth as he coughed, and Valora looked down nervously to him. Once Daryl had straightened himself up he looked up to Valora.

"When'd you find this out?" he asked.

"Today when Lori told me that I looked bigger that her when she's four weeks ahead of me," Valora said sitting back down in her chair.

Daryl was quiet for a minute before smirking, "double the trouble, but I think I can handle it."

Valora smiled big as she looked around to everyone laughing at the two of them. Valora laughed along with them as Rick held his glass up.

"To the twins!" Rick shouted and everyone shouted the same thing before taking a drink of their wine. In Lori's and Valora's case it was just water.


	37. Nightmares

"What are we gonna do about the kid?" Morgan asked Rick trying to not let anyone else hear, but failed.

"What kid?" Maggie asked looked at Rick.

"Yesterday when we were clearing out one of our houses," Rick started looking around to everyone, "this kid was in his closet when we broke into his room. He didn't have any weapons on him, and he just went along with us without arguing at all."

"So are we supposed to trust him just because he didn't have a weapon on him at the moment?" Andrea asked not wanting the same thing to happen again.

"What's his name?" Destanie asked Rick, "I might know him."

"Ashton..." Rick trailed off looking over to Morgan.

"Ashton Sykes," Morgan nodded his head, "that's what the kid said."

Destanie nodded her head, "that's my ex-boyfriend."

"Ex?" Valora asked looking to the girl.

"We broke up a week before this happened," Destanie sighed, "I'll give you guys the sop story later. Just bring him down here, he can be trusted."

Rick looked to the group before he walked up the stairs with Morgan following behind him. Rick was the first one to walk down the stairs followed by Ashton, and then Morgan. The kids' eyes lit up when his eyes landed on Destanie's.

"Destanie!" Ashton shouted stopping on the stairs as he looked over the railing, "I was wondering how these people got in here."

"Yeah," Destanie said her tone cold, "do you remember anything before this? Or do you just expect me to forgive you?"

All of the excitement in him left when she said that. His face now showed no emotion as he slowly followed Rick down the stairs. Rick and Morgan stood at Ashton's side making sure he wouldn't try anything.

"Do you think that you're trustworthy?" Destanie asked him taking a step closer, "how should I know if you changed or not when the world went to shit?"

"Look, I'm the same guy, but I've changed," Ashton shook his head trying to shake an image that had burned into his mind, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what? Breaking my heart like you did?" Destanie asked her voice cracking, "sorry for using me? Sorry for how you treated me afterwards?"

Ashton was quiet, and he looked up about to speak but a hand stopped him. The slap echoed through the room, and he looked to the wall shocked that she did that. He turned his head back to say something to her, but wasn't able to. Destanie had crashed her lips onto his and tears were running down her face.

When she pulled away she looked into his eyes, "I missed you."

Rick unlocked one side to the cuffs, and Ashton lifted a hand to brush away her tears, "it's okay. I'm here now," he whispered smiling to her.

Everyone else had already begun to leave the room to give the couple some privacy. Valora had headed up the stairs with Daryl following behind. The two of them walked into their room. Valora went and sat on the bed as Daryl stood in front of her.

"So what's the plan for today?" Valora asked looking up to him.

Daryl looked down to her, "find a house. Move in. Start a life."

Valora nodded her head looking down at her feet, "you know, it's all a little scary."

"What is?" Daryl asked moving to sit next to her on the bed.

"Just, this is all happening really fast," Valora breathed out, "it's a lot to process in such a short time."

Daryl nodded his head in understanding and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "we'll make it through though."

"How do you know?" Valora asked turning her head to look to him.

"Because we'll pull through together," Daryl nodded his head, "all of us."

Valora smiled as she leaned into him looking down to her hands, "you always know what to say."

"Let's get our things, then we'll go talk to Rick about what the plan is," Daryl said kissing the top of her head.

Valora sighed standing up, "okay, but I really just want to sleep all day if I could," Valora yawned, "I didn't get much sleep last night."

"You can sleep all you want once we find the right house," Daryl smirked back to her as he walked over to where he set his crossbow.

"Mhm," Valora nodded her head, "maybe the freezer has some deer in there that we could have for dinner."

Daryl nodded his head swinging his crossbow over his shoulder, "sounds like a plan."

They both grabbed their things, Daryl taking some of Valora's load and they headed down the stairs. Most of the group was already in the living room, and they were waiting on Rick, Lori, and them. They walked down and merged in with the group and watched as Rick and Lori walked down the stairs.

"So what's the plan Rick?" Andrea asked adjusting the bag on her back.

"We should all choose houses that are close together," Rick said looking from face to face, "in case something happens and we all need to get out of here, and we can get our quick and easy."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, "so what area do we choose the houses?" Mogan asked with a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Around here," Rick said, "only because it'll be easier to deliver the food to the individual houses."

"Let's go," Daryl said and everyone headed out the front door.

Daryl and Valora walked out with Steven and Beth following behind them.

"So there a reason why we got people following us?" Valora whispered to Daryl glancing back to Steven who was getting Beth to laugh.

"Steven said that he was going to move in the house that was next to ours. Which house do you want?" Daryl said looking down to Valora who was still paying more attention to Steven and Beth than the houses.

Valora shook her head with a smile before she put a hand to her chin thinking as she looked from house to house observing the outside of the houses, "I don't know. Were there any you saw that you liked?"

"Doesn't really matter to me," Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "I'm gonna let you pick it out."

Valora thought for a second, and she looked back up to the houses, "was there one with a kids room? Like with a crib?"

Daryl thought back to it, "yeah, there was one. It was the last house we cleared out, but we can always just move those things into our new house."

"I guess you're right," Valora nodded her head, "well lets look inside one of these."

Daryl nodded his head and grabbed Valora's hand, "let's check out this one," Daryl said and they walked up the driveway of the red Victorian style house.

"You've got nice taste," Valora smiled looking to the house then to Daryl.

"Looks like a nice house," Daryl shrugged his shoulders as he opened the front door, "each house has it's own generator so we should have power," Daryl said searching the wall for the light switch and when he found it the room lit up.

"Oh my gosh," Valora said holding a hand to her mouth, "this is amazing," she squealed rushing to jump on the large black sofa.

Daryl smirked and crossed his arms over his chest as he watched her laugh, "having fun?"

"Come on! You have to try it out!" Valora smiled looking over at him with smiling eyes, "it's so comfortable."

Daryl chuckled before walking over and sitting on the couch next to her, "hmm, you're right. It is comfy."

"Let's check out the kitchen," she smiled standing up quickly and rushing to the next room and she screamed causing Daryl to jump to his feet and he was in the kitchen in a flash, "oh I love the dark wood! Granite counter tops too! Oh my gosh, it's gonna be impossible to get me out of here when I'm cooking."

Daryl relaxed now that he knew she didn't scream in fear, and he sighed. Valora smiled looking through all of the cabinets that still had food in them. She walked over and looked in the pantry and raised an eyebrow.

"I think these people might have had a baby," Valora said holding up a container of formula.

"Well that's handy," Daryl said walking up to her side taking the container out of her hands.

"I wonder why they didn't take it with them when they left," Valora said looking through the pantry to only find three more large containers of the formula.

"They probably thought that there would be some wherever they were going," Daryl said placing the container back in the pantry.

"This means they have a baby room," Valora said turning around quickly and rushing over to the stairs, "come on slowpoke!"

Daryl laughed to himself as he slowly walked over to the stairs, and made his way up them. He looked to his right in the room that had the open door. He walked inside to see white walls with music notes going around the top of the room. He looked and saw Valora standing over by the crib looking in at it. Daryl walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist resting his hands on her stomach. He set his head on her shoulder and softly kissed her cheek.

"I'm guessing this is the house?" Daryl whispered in her ear.

Valora nodded her head, "yup. This is the house," she smiled turning her head to him.

"Great," Daryl smiled turning Valora around and resting his forehead on hers, "let's go see the rest of the house. Mostly the master bedroom."

"Maybe they'll have a master bath," Valora smiled, "I could really use one."

Daryl chuckled, "you always think of the weirdest things."

"I blame it on the pregnancy," Valora nodded her head with a laugh.

Daryl smiled down at her and closed his eyes leaning in to plant a kiss on her lips. Valora put a hand on his cheek with one hand holding onto his shirt. When Daryl pulled away Valora smiled up to him pulling him down for another kiss.

"Come on," Daryl said pulling away and pushing Valora past him, "lets go check out the master's room."

Valora grumbled something, and squealed when Daryl smacked her butt, "Daryl!"

Daryl chuckled to himself as Valora glared at him with a blush creeping on her cheeks.

"Not cool," she grumbled with a smirk as she turned around and started heading to where the master bedroom was.

Valora turned the doorknob and opened the door to a huge master bedroom. There was a king sized bed with black comforters and green pillows. Valora smiled as she walked over to the bed and fell backwards onto it. She laughed to herself as she saw Daryl standing in the doorway with a raised eyebrow. Valora sighed looking up to the ceiling to see a white ceiling fan with green intricate designs painted on it.

"This is the one," Valora smiled sitting up slowly and smiling to Daryl, "this is where are kids can grow up a somewhat normal life," Valora smiled holding a hand to her stomach.

Daryl slowly walked over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her. He lifted a hand and pushed away the hair covering her neck and softly planted butterfly kisses on her neck. Valora closed her eyes feeling her face starting to flush. Daryl gently grabbed her chin with his thumb and index, and pulled her closer to him so that their lips would meet.

Valora pulled away and whispered, "I love you.

"Love you," Daryl muttered before he pushed Valora so she was laying down on the bed. He held himself up so that he wouldn't hurt her and he kept their lips locked. Valora snaked her arms around his neck deepening the kiss.

* * *

"Here," Rick said taking some of the wood Valora was carrying, "don't want you pushing yourself."

"I'm fine," Valora sighed looking to the one log of wood that Rick had left her with, "I'm only pregnant."

"You never know, you could get yourself hurt somehow," Rick shrugged his shoulders.

"I want to contribute as well," Valora sighed, "I don't want to be known as the one sitting on their ass all day because they're carrying a couple extra."

"I know you want to help with barricading the gate, but we can't risk losing another member of the group," Rick shook his head, "we've lost one too many already."

"I know you feel bad about Jimmy, but there was nothing you could do," Valora said putting a hand on the sheriff's shoulder, "I've been in that situation, I know it sucks."

Rick slowly nodded his head and dropped the wood in the pile that was growing, "I can't believe that this is the only way in and out of the neighborhood."

"No kidding," Valora said tossing her log in the pile, "when do you think Daryl's gonna get back? He's been gone for at least an hour."

"Who knows," Rick shrugged his shoulders looked out past the gate, "hunting isn't on a time limit. He might be back after dark for all we know."

Valora sighed, "I wish hunting had a time limit. I don't understand why he can't just eat what we have here."

"Maybe because we don't have deer in the fridge?" Rick suggested looking over to Valora.

"Probably," Valora sighed, "I wish that he wasn't so determined to have me eat 'good' deer."

"Man's on a mission, and he's not gonna stop till he accomplishes it," Rick said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Like how you went after Lori and Carl when you got out of that hospital?" Valora asked narrowing her eyes at the sun shining in them.

Rick nodded his head, and Valora sadly smiled, "I see that you're growing apart from them," Valora sighed looking out the gate, "look past whatever you're mad at them about because one day you'll come to regret it."

"You sure you're not related to Dale in any sort of way?" Rick asked with a smirk on his face.

"Maybe," Valora said kicking the ground with a laugh, "my real dad was a lot like him in so many ways. He always knew just what to say whether he was quoting something he read or something he came up with himself."

"Sounds like he was a good man," Rick smiled to her.

Valora nodded her head, "he was. I don't know why he had to die, but now that I'm older I understand more."

"How so?" Rick asked.

"He was never angry and always showed us how much he loved us in the weirdest of ways," Valora smiled, "those kind of people are the ones who get to experience peace first."

Rick nodded his head, "that's true."

"That's how I've looked at my life for a long time," Valora sighed, "ever since my teacher in high school told me that."

"Smart teacher," Rick nodded his head.

Valora sighed and patted Rick's shoulder, " I won't burden you any longer. I'll go back to my house. Besides the people who previously lived there had a vast collections of books that I can't wait to read."

Rick chuckled slightly, "you go have fun."

"Oh, and I'm going to take a bath, is that alright?" Valora asked holding her hands almost begging if she could take one.

"Don't fill the tub up too much," Rick shook his head with a smile, "we don't want to waste all of the water in two months."

"I freaking love you right now," Valora smiled really big, "you're the man!"

Rick shook his head laughing as he watched Valora walk away while struggling to hold back her excitement. Valora made her way back to the red Victorian house that her and Daryl would now call home. Valora smiled standing in front of the house taking in the beauty of it before making her way inside. Right after They made their way back to Home Base Daryl had decided that he would go hunting. Everyone gave him weird looks before he left, but thought it'd be best just to let the man do what he wants.

Steven, Glenn, and the Greene's all live in the white house to the right of theirs. Across the street is Jacqui and T-dog with Morgan and Duane in the light blue house. Next to them are Jenner, Carol, and the three kids. Lori, Rick, and Carl all have the house next to Steven's house. Across from them are Andrea and Dale who live in the smallest house of them all. To the right of her house was the new couple, Ashton and Destanie in the light yellow house.

Valora walked up the stairs thinking about how their life was going to be now that they had found a safe place to live. She didn't know how long they would be there until they'd run into trouble, but as long as they stay here long enough to where she and Lori and could at least give birth.

"This is going to be a nice place," Valora smiled looking into the room where her future kids would be sleeping.

* * *

Valora shot up in bed her breaths coming in short pants, and her heart racing. She held onto her head in an attempt to get the room the stop spinning. She felt movement in the bed and she moved away, but relaxed slightly when she saw that it was only Daryl.

"What's wong?" Daryl asked with a sleepy voice.

"J-just a nightmare," Valora breathed out, and she took in a deep breath holding it in for a second before letting it out.

"You wanna talk about it?" Daryl asked half awake with his eyes slowly closing and opening as he spoke.

"I'm fine," Valora sighed, "let's just go back to sleep."

"Alright," Daryl said laying back down. When his head hit the pillow he was out cold.

Valora sighed looking into the dark void of their room. She sighed as she looked to her hands in her lap. She lifted a hand and looked at it for a good minute making sure that this wasn't her dream.

It was a night close to the present one. It was colder outside though. Valora was in the house by herself, and she heard noises coming from downstairs. Valora grabbed her knife as she went to go check out the noise, and what she found was what she feared. There were at least six walkers downstairs. They hadn't taken notice to her when she slightly screamed in her hand. She quickly rushed back into her bedroom in a panic and quietly closed the door behind her. When she turned around a walker was there and that's when she woke up.

What had scared her the most was that the dream had felt so realistic to her. It was almost as if the dream was reality and reality was the dream.

Valora sighed before she laid back down and snuggled under the comforters trying her best to fall back asleep after her nightmare.


	38. Birthday

After about two weeks or so of settling in, everyone had their houses modified to what their tastes were. Lori and Valora were doing good with their pregnancies. Carl was beginning to grow less cold by the day, and he was starting to act like his age now that he knew that they were safe. Daryl was starting to open up to everyone more than he had been before. He had locked himself up because of what Merle had told him that nobody was going to like him and that Merle was the only one who'd ever care about him.

Valora and Steven prove him wrong. The two of them cared for him like he was their family from the start. Daryl wasn't sure on how to deal with the strange feelings he had when he was around them. He'd never experienced them before, and he hadn't known what they meant until Steven, his new son, pointed it out to him. Daryl was sure that they weren't pretending, and he was starting to show the soft side that he had kept hidden. He had a soft spot for kids, especially the little ones.

"It's nice," Valora sighed walking up to Daryl who was looking out the window, "knowing that this is a safe place for us to live."

Daryl glanced to her before nodding his head as he moved his arm to pull her closer to him, and he planted a kiss on the top of her head. Valora sighed as she leaned on his chest looking out the window to the kids playing tag outside.

"I wonder what day it is," Valora said as the thought randomly popped in her mind.

"You can always ask Dale," Daryl smirked to himself, "the old man might as well start making calendars for everyone."

Valora chuckled, "yeah, then we'd know when people's birthdays, and when the holidays are," Valora stood up straight, "that's a great idea, Daryl, you're a genius " Valora shouted standing on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"I'm gonna need more than that," Daryl smirked pulling Valora back to kiss her on the lips.

* * *

"What's the plan for dinner?" Valora asked walking over to Daryl, "Rick never clarified what the plan was for dinner and whatnot."

"Let's go ask him then," Daryl said shrugging his shoulders, "c'mon." he said holding his hand out for her to take.

Valora grabbed his hand and the two of them left the kitchen and walked over to the front door. Daryl grabbed the doorknob and held the door open for Valora to walk through. Valora smiled to him and quietly thanked him as she stepped through the door. Daryl closed the door behind him grabbing ahold of her hand and the two of them made their journey over to the Grimes residence.

Valora chuckled once they stepped onto the porch and Daryl raised an eyebrow looking down at her, "what's funny?"

"It's just weird," Valora smiled looking up to him, and she looked down shaking her head, "walking up to someones front door. It's been awhile, it's just weird."

Daryl nodded his head and Valora lifted her hand and knocked on the door three times. They heard footsteps inside, and the door was opened with Lori standing there with Rick right behind her. Valora and Daryl watched as Rick relaxed slightly as he slid his gun back into place.

"It's just so weird having to answer the door," Lori smiled, "it'll take awhile to get used to it."

"Same thing about going up to someone's house to ask a question," Valora smiled.

"What is it? Something wrong with your guys' generator?" Rick asked walking up next to Lori with his arms over his chest.

"I was just wondering what the plan was going to be for dinner," Valora said looking from Lori to Rick, "are we all going to continue eating together, or... what?"

"It wouldn't hurt to at least have dinner together one last time," Lori shrugged her shoulders looking back to Rick for support.

Rick nodded his head, "we can talk about the plan at dinner?"

Valora nodded her head, "sounds great. Want me to spread the word?"

"That'd be great if you could," Rick nodded his head.

"Could you check up on Carl while you're out there? He's over at Carol's house playing with the other kids," Lori asked.

"Sure," Valora nodded her head, "anything for a friend."

"Thank you," Lori nodded her head.

"You take care," Valora waved to the couple as they stepped off the porch and made their way over to Carol's house.

"I'll go tell T-dog, and Destanie," Daryl nodded his head, "you wanna get everyone else?"

"Sure," Valora smiled and stood on her tiptoes planting a kiss on his cheek, "see you back at the house."

Daryl nodded his head crossing the street over to T-dog's house. Valora slowly walked up to the white house with a blue trim. Valora smiled looking down at the small lawn ornaments that were a cute touch to the landscape. Small garden gnomes were spread out across the front of the house where there were flowers that weren't looking too good. Valora smiled as she walked up to the front door and knocked three times.

Jenner answered the door and smiled when he saw that it was Valora, "hey, how're the babies?"

"Good," Valora smiled putting a hand to her stomach, "making me throw up a ton, but they're doing good."

"Ew," Jenner smiled, "you need something?"

"I'm just here to let you know that we're all having dinner together one last time tonight," Valora smiled, "probably at the first house, and I was sent to check up on Carl, see how he's doing."

"He's just in the kids' room doing what kids do," Jenner shrugged.

"Plotting to bomb the world and what's left of it probably," Valora chuckled getting a laugh out of Jenner, "anyways, that's all I needed. See you at dinner."

"See ya," Jenner waved as Valora walked down to driveway onto the next house.

Valora knocked on the house her son and daughter-in-law were living in, and Steven opened the door cautiously. He opened the door fully when he saw that it was only his mom, and he smiled. He walked up to his mother and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Hey mom," he smiled, "what brings you here?"

"What? I can't just come and see my son because I love him?" Valora smiled as she pulled out of the hug.

Steven smiled, "no, just thought you might have something to talk about."

"Well, we are having dinner tonight as a group one last time at the first house," Valora smiled, "that's all."

Steven nodded his head, "I was thinking, Dale should make a calendar you know. So that we can all know when each other's birthday's are, or when the holiday's are."

Valora nodded her head with a smile, "I was thinking the exact same thing. I was thinking that since he's been keeping count he should know what day it is, then we can get back on track with the dates."

"You should go tell him that now," Steven nodded his head, "so that he could get a head start on it."

"I was going to head over to his house next," Valora smiled.

"Come over whenever you want to visit," Steven smiled pulling his mother into a hug, "walk right in next time. Just knock on the bedroom door if we don't notice you're inside."

"TMI," Valora laughed, "love you Steven."

"Love you, Mom," Steven smiled waving to his mother as she crossed the street over to where Dale and Andrea lived.

Valora knocked on the door to have Dale immediately open the door. Valora had barely touched the door with her hand. Dale grabbed her forearm and pulled her into the house. Valora was shocked and she stood still when Dale looked at her with a worry stricken face.

"What's wrong?" Valora asked that being the only thing she could think to say.

"It's Andrea," Dale said holding his hands out, "something's wrong."

"Where is she?" Valora asked shaking away the shock, and Dale nodded his head for her to follow. The two of them made their way up the stairs and Dale knocked on the only closed door. He opened the door a crack, and then fully opened it. There was a lump on the bed that Valora suspected was Andrea. A quiet moan was heard when the lights flicked on.

Valora walked up to the girl and looked to see that she looked ashen. She moaned as she peeked through her eyes open and looked up at Valora. She opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing that came out was a harsh cough. Valora put a hand on her shoulder and felt the heat radiating off of her skin. Valora pulled her hand away and looked back to Dale with wide eyes. Dale shook his head, and he turned around to leave the room. Valora glanced back to Andrea one more time before flicking the lights off as she left the room.

"Is she..." Valora asked looking up to the man with pity.

"I don't think that she's sick with THE fever," Dale shook his head, "she can't be, she's a tough cookie. She can't be sick, not with that fever. She can't be. She's all I got."

Valora looked to the man who looked as if he had lost everything, lost hope. Valora held a hand to her mouth, and shook her head.

"She's not," Valora shook her head putting a hand on the man's shoulder, "it's just a normal fever. I'll help out as much as I can to get her over it quickly."

Dale looked up to her with a flicker of hope in his kind eyes, and he slightly smiled, "thank you. I'd appreciate it."

"She's not gonna get through this without some help," Valora smiled putting a hand on his shoulder.

Dale nodded his head, "got any aspirin to knock down that fever of hers?"

"As a matter of fact," Valora said reaching into her pocket, "I grabbed them out of Merle's stash thinking that I could get rid of my headache, but I'm pregnant so, and I'm such a worrywart about taking medication when I don't know when it's safe so..."

"Can't really take them," Dale smiled.

"Yeah," she laughed, "anyways tonight we're having dinner at the first house. Do you want me to make up an excuse as to why Andrea won't be attending?"

"Just say something like she's had a rough day," Dale shrugged his shoulders, "thought about the past... and, it got her down."

Valora nodded her head, "yeah..."

"I'll go give her these," Dale nodded his head handing the bag of aspirin back to Valora, "we can go talk in the kitchen if you want."

"Yeah," Valora smiled, "see you down there."

Valora slowly walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen. It was a modern kitchen, black and white cabinets with granite counter-tops All of those modern containers that held their sugar, flour, spaghetti noodles, and whatnot. Valora walked up to the island in the middle of the kitchen and dragged her hand across as she walked by. She smiled looking around the kitchen at the walls that had nails in the wall where family pictures were supposed to be.

"Nice kitchen isn't it?" Dale smiled walking over to where Valora had stopped to look at where a clock was stopped at two-thirty-three and twenty-one seconds.

"That clock stopped at two-thirty-three... twenty-one seconds," Valora mumbled looking over to Dale.

Dale glanced down to his watch, "this one stopped at twelve. I've been winding it ever since it ran out of battery power."

"How many days have passed, since the world went to shit?" Valora asked glancing over to him.

"This would be... the hundred and fifteenth day," Dale said putting his hand back down to his side as he stared at Valora in shock, "since August 18th."

"Holy shit," Valora mumbled resting her hands on the island holding herself up, "that's a long time."

"No kidding," Dale said sitting down at the kitchen table.

Valora sat down in the chair across from him and sighed, "Steven, Daryl, and I were all talking, we were thinking that we could start up with a calendar again. You know, get our days back on track."

"That's actually a great idea," Dale shrugged his shoulders, "won't hurt to know how many more days until I turn sixty-five."

"When I turn thirty-one," Valora chuckled, "never thought that this was how I'd spend my thirty-first birthday."

"I was gonna go fishing with the two of them," Dale said nodding his head to where Andrea was, "looks like that's not gonna happen."

"Yeah it can," Valora smiled, "you just have to keep Amy in spirit. Andrea's still here."

Dale smiled, "guess you're right. What'd you plan for your birthday?"

"Going to Kobe Grill," Valora laughed, "best restaurant, ever."

Dale chuckled, "maybe Daryl could cook you up some 'real' deer."

Valora laughed, "yeah, but by the looks of it I'll be giving birth on my birthday."

"When's your birthday?" Dale asked raising an eyebrow.

"Five months from now," Valora smiled, "May 11th."

"That'd be quite the coincidence," Dale smiled, "one hell of a birthday."

"Would be the best one by far," Valora smiled.

"Why don't we get started on this calendar business," Dale smiled, "got plenty of paper left over. These people had purchased a ton before this all happened."

"People stock up on the weirdest things," Valora laughed.

"I stocked up on shitty books," Dale laughed, "you'd of thought that I'd stock up on better books if I'd of known the world would go to shit."

Valora chuckled, "you like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter?"

"I'm more into those horror books," Dale shrugged his shoulders as he stood up, "Dracula, The Sand, Hell Hound, really good books."

"Only ever read Dracula," Valora sighed, "if I'd of met you before this I'm sure that you'd fill me in on how amazing those books are."

"Oh yeah," Dale nodded his head as he walked into the living room where the printer was with the stacks of paper, "you wouldn't be able to shut me up."

"Okay," Valora smiled, "what day was August 18 on?"

"A Wednesday, I think," Valora said thinking back, "did these people have a calendar here?"

"Yeah, over there," Dale pointed over to the cabinets, "they have a small one. I couldn't read it with the terrible vision I have."

"Where are your glasses?" she asked standing up to look in the cabinet.

"Andrea stepped on them on her way to the bathroom one night in the RV," Dale sighed, "to think that would be how I'd lose them after this happened."

Valora smiled opening the cabinet to see the tiny calendar, "you're right, I can barely read it."

"Must have bad vision like me then," Dale smiled.

"Yup, it's a Wednesday," Valora smiled walking over to Dale with the calendar in her hand, "why would they even bother to have on if it was gonna be this tiny?"

"No clue," Dale shook his head.

"Let's get started," Valora said rubbing her hands together sitting down in the chair taking a piece of paper, "let's start on the month that we're in... so that'd be... December?"

"Yup," Dale nodded his head, "December 11 on a Saturday."

"I was thinking I'd have to go in for work tomorrow," Valora sighed cracking a joke getting Dale to chuckle.

"I still have to work," Dale laughed.

"On a weekend?" Valora raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't have to work during the week though," Dale smiled.

"Lucky butt," Valora glared at him.

"Now I'm on a daily job that never ends," Dale sighed.

"We all are," Valora said looking over to the calendar Dale was getting close to finishing.

"Maybe we'll be done with next year, then we can get everyone's birthday at dinner," Valora smiled.

"We'll probably finish," Dale smiled, "as long as dinner starts late."

* * *

"All done," Valora smiled looking over to the pile of calendars that Dale and she had been working on all afternoon.

"And in time for dinner, too," Dale smiled as he looked over to the flashlight shining through the small window at his door, and they heard a knock.

"I'll get the calendars," Valora smiled as the two of them stood up.

Dale nodded his head walking over to the door with Valora right behind him holding all of the calendars. Dale opened the door to see Daryl standing there with his flashlight pointing to the ground. Valora smiled as he nodded to her and he glanced to the calendars in her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"You can find out at dinner," Valora smiled, "let's get going, we don't want them to wait for us any longer."

"What about Andrea?" Daryl asked looking too see that she wasn't with the two of them.

"She's on her you know what, and she's got really bad" Valora said and Daryl nodded his head not wanting her to say any more.

"Let's go," Daryl said stopping Valora from finishing.

The three of them made their way over to the first house, and they ended up being the last ones there. Valora smiled to everyone as she entered the room getting weird looks as to what she was holding. Valora sat down setting the calendars on her plate.

"Okay everyone," Valora smiled, "we got something that'll be very useful as of this day on."

"What is it?" Melanie asked on the edge of her seat trying to get a look at to what she had made.

"Calendars," Valora smiled, and everyone started laughing, "I'm serious. We're gonna have to start keeping track now. We're going to want to have to go back to the way we once lived."

"It's a great idea, just something about it's funny," T-dog smiled, "don't know what's funny about it though."

Valora chuckled, "well, now we're gonna have to get everyone's birthday written down so we all know. Birthday's will be a big deal now since we're family now."

"December 12th," T-dog started, "gonna be thirty-six then."

"You're birthday's tomorrow," Valora smiled as she started writing down his birthday on the twelfth of December " here. Let's just have everyone write it on their own calendar," Valora said passing a calendar out to each of the adults.

"April 5th," Jacqui smiled after she wrote down his birthday, and everyone wrote down hers.

"March 15th," Carol said looking around as everyone wrote down hers.

"July 15th," Jenner sighed as he watched everyone write his birthday down.

"May... 21st," Sophia struggled trying to remember the day she was born.

"March 23rd!" Melanie shouted.

"August 18th," Kayden quietly said looking up to Valora who looked at the boy with a heartfelt look.

"I'm sorry buddy," Valora sadly smiled, and the kid shook his head.

"We celebrated it early, so it's alright," Kayden shrugged his shoulders as his father put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"That was the day the outbreak started," Valora said answering everyone's unasked question.

"June 6th," Glenn said breaking the silence.

"Same as Glenn's," Maggie smiled, "weird coincidence."

"March 12th," Steven said holding Beth closer to him.

"Christmas day," Beth smiled looking up to Steven with a smile.

"Andrea's is on Halloween," Dale smiled, "mine's the day after."

"March 24th," Valora smiled.

"Christmas day," Daryl muttered so everyone could barely hear him.

"December 1st," Rick sighed in disappointment looking down at the table, "looks like I'm already thirty-six."

"November 23rd, looks like I'm thirty-four," Lori sighed putting a hand on her husband's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"February 15th," Carl muttered looking up to everyone who wrote it down.

"Destanie?" Valora asked looking over to the quiet couple looking around to everyone, "what's yours?"

"I don't think it's very important, besides I barely know all of you," Destanie muttered looking to Ashton, "you probably don't care anyways."

"Destanie," Valora said in a harsh tone, but then warmly smiled in a motherly way, "you're family now."

Destanie uneasily looked over to Ashton and he nudged her encouraging her to go on, and she sighed with a smile on her face, "November 22nd."

"August 11th," Ashton sighed looking around the room.

"Now that that's settled," Valora said picking up her glass and holding it up to everyone, "to a new start."


	39. For The Baby

"Dinner was great," Valora sighed as her and Daryl walked into their bedroom.

"It was okay," Daryl shrugged, "would of liked it better if it were outside."

"No stars tonight though," Valora sighed walking over to the window and pushed the curtains to the side, "do you really have to go and keep watch on the wall tonight?"

"Rick asked me," Daryl whispered when he wrapped his arms around Valora resting his hands on her stomach, "said he had to talk to Lori about something serious, and that he wasn't going to be able to keep watch tonight."

Valora sighed, "that's what family's for. They're there for eachother."

Daryl nodded his head and resting it on her shoulder as he looked to the cloudy sky above them, "think it's gonna rain?"

"Probably," Valora smirked to herself, and moved her eyes to look to Daryl, "you might actually want to wear a jacket that has sleeves."

"If I knew this would happen I'd of packed my good leather jacket," Daryl shrugged his shoulders with a sigh, "too bad. I really liked that jacket."

"I'm sure that we could find a nice leather jacket for you in one of these houses," Valroa shrugged her shoulders.

"Tomorrow," Daryl said planting a kiss on her cheek letting her out of his grasp, "I should get going. T ain't gonna be happy about me being late to my turn of watch."

"Okay," Valroa sighed turning around. Before Daryl could walk past her she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her to crash her lips onto his, "be safe."

"You too," Daryl whispered to her as he kissed her one more time before heading out.

Valora stood at the window looking up to the sky until she heard the door close, and she watched as Daryl crossed the street on his way over to the gate. She sighed walking slowly over to the bed. She slowly sat down and looked around the room. She was glad to be able to have power after at least three months. She sighed as she reached down to pull her combat boots off. Valora jumped slightly when the sound of a knock echoed throughout the house. She sighed in relief, and walked over to the window to see that Carol was standing at the door.

Valora walked down the stairs, and slowly opened the door and smiled, "hey, what's up?"

"I thought that since Daryl won't be over at your house, and you're going to be alone, you might want some company," Carol smiled, "unless if you are okay with being alone."

"No, I appreciate it. Come on in," Valora smiled stepping to the side letting Carol inside.

"I think you got the best house here," Carol smiled looking around the living room, "it's nicely decorated." "

The master bath has a giant tub," Valora smiled, "Rick let me take a bath one day. It was amazing."

"I'll have to come over and try out that bath of yours," Carol smiled, "its been forever since I was able to take a bath and read a good book."

"WIth a cup of coffee," Valora smiled.

"Exactly," Carol smiled looking back to her.

Valora chuckled, "haven't had a sleepover in years, I have no idea what to do."

"Did these people have a coffee maker?" Carol asked, "maybe we could bring some out to Daryl and T-dog. As a thanks for taking the first watch."

"Sounds like a plan," Valora smiled, "I think they have one somewhere," Valora said walking into the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets.

"Found it," Carol said pulling one out from one of the cabinets.

"Here's the coffee mix," Valora said pulling out the tub of ground coffee beans.

* * *

After the two of them finished making the coffee, they walked outside wrapped in small blankets that Valroa had in her house. They quickly made their way over to the gate that was poorly covered in spare slabs of wood. They looked up to the top of the wall where Daryl and T-dog were standing. A metal ladder was leaning against the brick wall so that they could get up there. Valora climbed up the ladder with her cup of coffee for Daryl in her hand. Daryl looked back noticing that someone was going up the ladder.

When he realized that it was Valora he put down his crossbow, and immediately helped her up onto the ten foot tall wall. Valora smiled as Daryl took the cup of coffee from her hand and set it on the ground helping her up the rest of the way. She sat down on the top of the wall with a sigh of relief.

"I didn't think that that'd be so much work just to climb a ladder," Valora sighed smiling up to Daryl who was slightly glaring down at her.

"You should be back at the house," Daryl said in a caring tone as he kneeled down to her height, "you'll catch a cold."

"I'll be fine," Valora smiled, "just wanted to get you some coffee to help keep you awake."

Daryl softly smiled, "thanks for that, but really, you should get back to the house. Don't want you getting sick, and scaring the shit out of everyone again," Daryl half-smiled as Valora smiled to him.

"Okay," Valora smiled, and leaned closer to him, and kissing him, "just don't catch a cold either. I don't want to have to worry any more than I do."

"Get," Daryl smirked smacking her butt as she stood up to go back down the ladder.

"Daryl!" Valora shouted in a whisper only making his smirk to widen.

T-dog chuckled as he looked out to the mess of the world outside of Rivendale. Daryl made sure that Valroa was able to make her way down the ladder, and then Carol started to make her way up. Daryl rolled his eyes, and once Carol knew she was within arms length she held out the cup of coffee that was for T-dog.

"Give this to T, I'm sure he could use it," Carol smiled as Daryl nodded to her.

"See you two tomorrow," Carol nodded her head as she made her way down the ladder.

"Let's get back to the house," Valora said rubbing her arms, "it's freezing out here!"

"Can't agree with you more," Carol muttered rubbing her arms as she stepped off the ladder.

* * *

Valroa groaned rolling over after opening her eyes to see the light of the sun shining in. She huffed as she sat up and yawned. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room. Still the same as she had left it the night before. She slowly stood up feeling a slight pop in her back as she stood.

"I'm getting old," Valora chuckled as she made her way to the bathroom.

Valora sighed looking at the tangled mess she called her hair. She smiled and clicked her tongue as she aimed guns to herself in the mirror. She laughed as she walked over to the closet in there and picked out an outfit. The people who had lived there before her had been just one size larger than she was, and it was also filled with maternity clothing.

"This should do," Valora sighed pulling out a black tank-top, dark blue jeans, and a black and white plaid flannel shirt.

Valora slipped on her clothes, and walked back over to the mirror to deal with the monstrosity that she called hair. She sighed as she searched through the drawers for a hair tie. She huffed when she wasn't able to find one. She groaned as she crossed her arms over her chest, and she looked around the bathroom for another possible place where there might be some hair tie's hiding.

"Maybe," Valora said walking over to the cabinet that her eyes glanced over when she searched the room. She walked over to the cabinet, and there was a pile of hair ties. Valora smiled and grabbed one and made her way back over to the front of the mirror.

"Now how are we going to take care of you?" Valora asked herself as she put a finger to her chin thinking of some way to take care of her hair problem.

"Well don't you look just beautiful," Carol laughed as she walked into the bathroom.

"I could have sworn I closed that door," Valroa said with a slight laugh as Carol handed her a mug, "thanks," Valora nodded her head taking a sip of the freshly made coffee.

"Need help with that?" Carol smiled.

"Please," Valora sighed sitting down on the closed lid of the toilet.

Carol smiled and walked over taking hold of the rat's nest and tried her best to untangle as much of it as she could. Carol got as much of it as she could untangled, and she took the hair tie off of the counter. Carol began to braid her hair to the right so that it would go over her shoulder. Carol held the hair tie in her mouth as she braided the last of her hair, and pulled it out of her mouth twisting it around the end five times to ensure that it would stay.

"All done," Carol smiled helping her to stand up and walked her over to the mirror, "looks good."

"Yeah," Valora smiled holding the braid in both of her hands, "looks nice. Might just have to wear my hair like from now on."

"You'll have to learn to braid then," Carol said in a jokingly way, "I'm just playing. I'll braid your hair for you if you ever need help."

"Thanks again," Valora smiled.

"It's what we do," Carol smiled, "we're all family now."

"True," Valora said smiling at the mirror, "very true."

"Well we don't want to keep everyone waiting for our arrival," Carol smiled grabbing her mug from the counter, "let's head out."

Valora nodded her head grabbing the mug that Carol had brought her, and the two of them headed down the stairs. Valora opened the front door to run into someone. Valora looked up to see that it was her redneck lover was the one she had run into. Valora grinned widely up at him and she hear Carol clear her throat.

"I'll take my leave," Carol smiled, "I'll be seeing you later."

"Thanks, Carol," Daryl nodded to her as she smiled.

"It really wasn't a big deal. I had fun last night," Carol smiled, "maybe we could have another girls night."

"I'd really like that," Valora smiled, and waved as Carol made her way down the driveway, "bye Carol, tell Jenner and the kids that I said hi."

"I'll do that," Carol waved and made her way across the street, and into her house.

"Didn't know that you two were best friends," Daryl raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk.

"Shut up," Valora smiled elbowing him in the side playfully, "let's go make some breakfast. Waffles sound really good."

"We have the stuff to make waffles?" Daryl asked walking in the house closing the door behind them.

"I don't know. We'll make waffles out of ketchup, and baking soda if we have to," Valora shrugged her shoulders walking up and opening the pantry.

Daryl chuckled, "that sounds disgusting."

"It actually sounds pretty good, I might just eat that," Valora shrugged with a smirk.

"No way," Daryl shook his head, "you'd get sick if you ate that."

"Aha!" Valora smiled pulling out a box, "blueberry pancake mix! We are in luck!"

Daryl smiled, "I'll get the pan."

"Water, eggs," Valora mumbled to herself, "do we have eggs?"

"Here," Daryl said tossing the box over to Valora, and she barely caught it before it hit the counter.

"Jesus, Daryl! They almost hit the counter," Valora shouted at him.

"But they didn't," Daryl said turning around with a smirk on his face.

"Jeez," Valora mumbled opened the case, "that would have been a ton of wasted food."

"Hey," Daryl said putting a hand on her shoulder, "they didn't hit the counter because you were fast enough to react to it. Which means you'll react in a quick situation, and you'll make the right choices."

Valora sighed, "you have the weirdest ways of doing things."

"But that's one of the things that you like about me," Daryl smiled resting his forehead on Valora's as he pulled her close to him.

"Yeah," Valora smiled up at him, "man, what if one of the kids develop that trait of yours?"

"Then we'll just pick on mom twice as much," Daryl smirked down at her planting a kiss on her cheek.

"Great," Valora said rolling her eyes with a smile.

"Now, let's get back to making you those pancakes," Daryl smiled down to her, and turning around to turn on the stove.

Valora mixed the ingredients needed to make the pancake batter, and she walked over to Daryl who was cleaning out his nail with one of the kitchen knifes. Valora sighed and pulled the knife out of his hand.

"This is not the salon, honey," Valora smirked up at him, "besides, we use this to eat, not to clean under our fingernails."

"Force of habit," Daryl shrugged and grabbed the bowl of batter that she set on the counter and began to pour it into the pan.

"Are you going to have any?" Valora asked.

"Hell yeah," Daryl smirked, "love blueberry pancakes. My mom always made the best when she was sober."

"That reminds me," Valora said resting her butt on the counter as she crossed her arms over her chest, "you've never really talked about your family other than Merle being a good man who was in the military before the world went to shit."

"Not really a topic I like talking about," Daryl said his smirk dropping into a small frown.

"You know, you can talk to me about anything," Valora said putting a hand on his shoulder, "you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'd like to get to know your past more, since, well, you know most of mine."

"I'll talk about it later," Daryl said flipping the pancake in the pan, "for now, let's just get back to enjoying the morning."

"Okay," Valora smiled letting her arm fall to her side as she looked down to her feet on the floor, "just remember, you can talk to me about anything."

Daryl kept quiet as he made sure the pancake wouldn't burn, and he cleared his throat, "do we have any plates? Might need something to eat these on."

"Yeah," Valora sadly smiled as she opened the cabinet behind her head, and pulled out two plates, "here we go."

"Don't be sad 'cause I'm not telling you now," Daryl said looking down at her with concern in his eyes, "It's just... it's hard to talk about..."

Valora sadly smiled, and put a hand on his arm, "I know, it' can be hard to open up to people. And the pancake's burning."

Daryl's head snapped to the pan where a small smoke was rising from the pan, and he quickly removed the pancake from the pan with his fingers and dropped it on the plate if Valora's hands. Valora smiled as he waved his hand back and forth trying to get rid of the stinging sensation in his hand.

"That wasn't very smart," Valora said holding her empty hand to her mouth trying to hold back the laughter.

Daryl glared at her, but couldn't help but smirk when she saw her on the verge of tears when she was trying so hard not to laugh. Valora let out one chuckle, and that caused her to go into a laughing fit. Daryl laughed along with her and Valora set down the plate and slid down to the floor for how bad she was laughing.

"I, I don't know, why that was so funny," Valora said between breaths, "but it was so funny."

Daryl down at her and held a hand out, "I bet it was pretty funny by the look on your face."

"Whew," Valora said holding onto her stomach, "I swear I was about to explode by how hard I was laughing."

Daryl smiled and poured some more batter into the pan. Valora rested her head on his arm, and sighed looking around the house. Daryl smiled a little wider as he glanced her way, and flipped the pancake in the pan. Valora smiled as she closed her eyes thinking about having two toddlers running around the house in their diapers. Valora laughed to herself getting a strange look from Daryl.

"You're not going all Shane on me now are you?" Daryl asked in a jokingly way to hide his worry.

"Nah," Valora smiled standing up straight, "just imagining two toddlers running around the house in their diapers."

Daryl smiled, "can't wait for that."

"You have diaper duty," Valora smiled at the disappointed look he gave her, "it's the man's job. Besides, I'll just make more of a mess if I have to change the diaper."

"You're gonna shit yourself too if you have to change a diaper?" Daryl smirked as Valora punched his arm.

"No," Valora smiled with a blush creeping on her face, "I'll just vomit everywhere. I can't stand disgusting smells. I don't know how I've lasted this long without throwing up. You can ask Steven if I threw up at every bad smell."

"I believe you," Daryl said picking up a plate to put the pancake on, "Steven wouldn't stop talking to me about how every time he was sick you had to wear one of those mask things when you were around him."

"And how did the two of you get on the topic of me vomiting at every nasty smell?" Valora asked as she grabbed her plate and a fork from the drawer.

"Don't know," Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "I think it was when you were getting sick all the time because of morning sickness."

"Don't remind me," Valora groaned as she sat down at the dining table, "I swear I lost like twenty pounds for how much I threw up."

"Least you're not getting sick anymore," Daryl said sitting down in the chair across from her.

"Yeah," Valora sighed in relief, "thank the heavens."

* * *

"You're keeping watch again?" Valora quietly shouted as Daryl was standing at the front door.

"It's just for tonight," Daryl said putting his only long-sleeve shirt on.

"You've been keeping watch for the past week," Valora sighed crossing her arms over her chest, "and you still haven't opened up to me about your family."

Daryl froze and sighed turning his head to look at her, "I'll tell you everything when I get back."

"Promise?" Valora sighed looking at Daryl with a sad look.

"Promise," Daryl nodded his head.

"Okay," Valora said pouting her lip, "tonight is the last night.. Then I get you for a week. No watch."

"I'll make sure to tell Rick that," Daryl nodded his head walking up to Valora and kissed her, "want Carol to come over?"

"Nah," Valora sighed, "she needs a night with Jenner. She's been spending the night over here for the past week. I'm sure that she needs a break."

"Stay safe," Daryl said planting a kiss on her forehead.

"I always am," Valora smiled up to him, "you stay safe."

Valora crossed her arms over her chest, and walked out on the porch watching Daryl until he was out of her sight. She sighed as she quickly rushed into the warmth of her house. She rubbed her arms as she walked into the living room. She walked up to the shelf where there was a variety of books that the people who currently lived there had left behind.

"The Dead," Valora said looking at the spine of the book, and she pulled it off the shelf with one finger and caught it in her hand, "everyone sixteen and up catches the disease. Looks good."

Valora walked over to the chair closest to the fire and curled up under a blanket. Valora started to read the book all about the apocalypse in a totally different setting.

* * *

Valora looked to the battery powered clock on the wall, and from what they had thought, it was almost midnight. Valora yawned setting her book that she was almost done with and walked over to the window. She blinked her eyes hard three times to make sure she was seeing what she was seeing. Walkers were all over on the streets. Valora quickly ducked down under the window as she caught the shadow of a walker passing by.

"Shit..." Valora thought to herself. Once she was sure there were no walkers paying attention to the window, she quickly closed the curtains. She rushed into the kitchen and froze. There was a walker standing at the glass door that lead into their backyard.

She quickly backed against the wall, and the walker hadn't taken notice to her yet as he was more focused on how to open the door.

'How the fuck did they get in?' Valora thought to herself as she looked to the knife block on the counter, 'I could take him out quickly, but what if there are more out there? Too risky. I just have to get upstairs somehow... without getting noticed.'

Valora looked around the room, and sighed as there was no way to get upstairs without that one walker not noticing her moving. The staircase had to be out in the open didn't it? Valora huffed and took in a deep breath as she looked over to the walker that was now looking behind it. All of a sudden the walkers head was in two. Valora held a hand to her mouth trying to hold back the scream caught in her throat.

The door slowly slid open, and someone walked in. Along with two walkers following behind them. Valora looked to the knife block, and quickly rushed over grabbing the biggest knife. She held the knife in her trembling hands and pointed it to the strange person.

"W-w-who are you?" Valora stuttered as the person approached her causing her to run into the counter, "stay back. I-I'm not afraid to use this."

"I'm not going to hurt you," the person spoke up, and the voice sounded female, "I'm here to help. Someone purposefully let the biters in."

"W-who would do that?" Valora asked.

"Someone holding a grudge," the person said.

"What's with the walkers? Aren't you afraid they'll... bite you?" Valora said swallowing the fear in her throat.

"You want to get out alive? Or do you want to play twenty questions?" the person asked.

"Wh-what about my son? My husband?" Valora asked, "are they... gone?"

"I don't know," the person said, "let's get a move on. I'm sure they'll take notice to this place soon enough. Go get what you need and we'll get out of here."

"I need to know my son's okay," Valora said, "his house is next door, can't we check if they're there?"

The person stayed silent for a minute before the hood on their head moved up and down slowly, "only for a short while. We don't want to draw too much attention."

"Okay," Valroa breathed in trying to calm her nerves, "I'll be down in a minute."

Valora rushed upstairs and grabbed her things, and headed downstairs, "I'm ready."

"Let's go," the person said pulling the chain causing the walkers to walk forward, "we don't have much time."

Valora and the person walked into the backyard where there were more than five walkers roaming around, "stick close to me, or you'll get attention drawn to you."

Valora nodded her head, "can we check on everyone else? I need to know they're okay. Maybe you can join the group."

"No time," the person shook their head.

"These people are my family," Valora shouted in a whisper forcefully turning the person around, "I need to know if they're alive or not."

"Do you want to know if your son is alive, or not?" the person said in a harsh tone, "you only have time to check on one person, who do you choose?"

Valora looked at the hooded person in shock, and she had only one person she could check on, "my son," Valora swallowed the guilt she was feeling in her throat, "he matters most. Besides, I know that only Daryl can kill Daryl."

The hooded person nodded their head, and the two of them made their way over to the house that Steven lived in. Valora rushed up to the front of the house, and stopped dead in her tracks. The front door was flung open, and on the floor was a walker feeding on something on the floor. The room was too dark to tell what it was. Valora put a hand over her mouth, and turned her head looking away with a tear rolling down her face. She turned around and nodded her head with a lump growing in her throat.

"Let's go. I got my answer," Valora said walking up to the stranger who had, kind-of saved her life.

"Alright," the person nodded their head, and Valora followed behind her. There were gunshots coming from the front gate, and Valora turned her head in the direction. She couldn't make out who it was, but someone was being taken to the ground by five or six walkers. Valora opened her mouth to shout, but decided that it would be best to keep quiet.

Valora looked to the ground and watched as one foot stepped in front of the other as she walked away from her friend, no family, that was being taken down by a group of walkers, "I'm so, so, sorry. I have to stay alive though. For the baby."

* * *

A loud scream filled the forest around the two, and Valora looked back, "that was Andrea. I'd know that scream anywhere," Valora smiled and she turned to run back to be the savior to at least one person.

"We really shouldn't go back," the person said grabbing Valora's wrist.

"She's my friend," Valora said glaring at the person she had been walking with for the past hour or so, and she tore her hand away from her, "and I'm going back for her whether you like it or not."

Valora ran as quickly as she could, and there was Andrea making a scene as only three walkers were behind her. Valora pulled out her knife and rushed up to the walker closest to her and lodged her knife into it's brain. Andrea looked to Valora like she was an angel sent to her from heaven. Valroa tried to dislodge the knife from the walkers head, but she was getting weak and she was unable to pull the knife out of its head. The other walkers had taken notice to her, and were now leaving Andrea alone. Valora left the knife in the walkers head, and she was about to pull out her gun but thought otherwise. Valora closed her eyes preparing for the worst, but when she opened them each walker was on the ground with their heads cut in half.

"Thank you," Valora panted as she looked to the person who had saved her earlier on, and saved her yet again, "what's your name?'

"MIchone," the person said pulling their hood off.

"Valora," Valora said holding her hand out to the woman, "this is Andrea."

The woman slid her sword back in its sheath and nodded her head to the both of them before pulling her walkers behind her, "let's go. It won't be long before those walkers find us."

"C'mon," Valroa said holding a hand out to Andrea, "looks like it's just the three of us now."

"What about everyone else?" Andrea asked, "they're all okay. At least, everyone but... but..."

"But..." Valora trailed on.

"D-dale," Andrea said looking at Valora with tears in her eyes, "Dale... he... he pushed me out of the way when I was shooting my gun, and I cause a ton of them to go towards me. He... he... Valora he died because of me."

"It's not your fault," Valora said pulling Andrea into a hug, "it's not your fault."

"I-I..." Andrea stuttered as tears welled up in her eyes as she awkwardly hugged Valora back, "Steven's alive though," Andrea choked out as she snapped out of her sadness, "he was with Daryl and Beth the last I saw. I'm sure that they're still alive."

"Thank god," Valora breathed, "let's go. We can mourn the ones we've lost once we know that we're somewhere safe."

"Nowhere's safe anymore," Andrea said rubbing the tears threatening to fall, "first the farm, and then Rivendale? Those places were the safest anywhere is gonna get. Now they're both gone."

"Quiet," Michone snapped back at the two of them, "you'll attract them to us."

Valora and Andrea looked over to a group of seven or eight walkers heading in their direction. Valora grabbed Andreas arm and pulled her over next to Michonne, and the three of them quietly walked by the walkers without them noticing. Valora let go of the breath she held onto as they walked by.

"I know a place that we can stay for the night," Michonne said as they came across a small town, "over there. In the diner."

"Have you been staying there?" Valora asked as they quietly made their way across the street.

"For a couple days," Michone said as she peeked inside the diner window to make sure someone or something hasn't made their way inside, "I don't stick around much. I move a lot."

"That's gonna be a problem," Valora said as they entered the diner.

"What do you mean?" Michonne asked looking back to her.

"I'm carrying extra baggage," Valora sighed holding a hand to her belly.

Michonne glanced to her belly to her face, and she shook her head, "this is gonna be a rough winter."

"I think we can live with it," Andrea shrugged, "I could lose a few pounds. I'm not going to gain any since I'm not baking Christmas Cookies this year."

"That's true," Valora chuckled walking over to one of the cleaner looking booths and sitting down, "I don't think that we'll be traveling very fast. I'm already getting back pains."

"We'll make it through," Michonne said leaning said as she hooked the chain to her two pet walkers to a chair bolted to the ground, "I didn't save you to get you killed so soon."

"Thank you," Valora smiled rubbing her shoulder, "there somewhere I can take a nap? I haven't gotten any sleep for a while."

"There's a sleeping bag in back,' Michonne said looking to the door to the kitchen, "it's better if you sleep back there. the only entrance in there is through that door. We'll make sure that nothing happens to you."

Valora nodded her head, "thank you so much," Valora said putting a hand on her shoulder as she walked passed her.

Michonne nodded her head, and Valora opened the door. The sleeping bag was in the farthest corner of the room. Valora sighed in relief and laid down in the sleeping bag . She closed her eyes and fell asleep in an instant.


	40. Don't Grieve

"Where's Mom?" Steven shouted as he met up with the rest of the group after they were separated from.

"I thought you were with her," Rick said looking at the boy with squinted eyes.

"We have to go back," Steven said with wide-eyes as he looked back to Rivendale that was overrun, "we have to go back, she probably doesn't know about it being overrun. She's probably asleep in her bed."

"We can't risk it," Rick said reaching out for the boy.

Steven jerked his shoulder away from him and looked to the sheriff with red eyes welling up with tears, "she's my mom. I can't just leave her there to die by the hands of walkers."

"What about Daryl?" Rick asked, "does anyone know where he is?"

'Wait," Maggie said holding a hand up, "I think I can hear his bike."

Everyone went quiet as they listened in for the supposed noise of Daryl's bike. Steven was filled with joy as he saw the familiar figure of Daryl riding down to road on his bike. He was too far away to tell if there was more than one passenger. Steven's heart dropped when he saw that he was alone. Silent tears rolled down his flushed cheeks as the realization of his mother, who was supposedly dead, along with his two unborn siblings. It hit him harder than a ton of bricks. He collapsed to his knees as he stared at his hands as he was making sure that this was real life. Steven watched as a puddle of water began to soak his jeans. The sound of his bike pulling up was loud, and then silence was followed.

"Where is she?" Daryl asked already knowing the answer.

Rick opened his mouth and closed it knowing that no matter what he said, he wasn't going to change the man's mind. The bike started up, and Steven was pulled to his feet by T-dog. T-dog moved the kid over to where Daryl was waiting for him on his bike, and Daryl nodded to them.

"We'll be back in a few hours," Daryl said looking to them, "we'll meet here when we get back."

Rick nodded his head, "we'll be right here."

Daryl nodded his head and the two of them headed out back to Rivendale.

"Are you sure this is the right thing?" Lori asked walking up next to Rick.

"I'd do the same if it were you back there," Rick said not even bothering to look back to his wife.

"What, what if she's not there?" Glenn asked looking to Rick.

"We try to move on," Rick shook his head.

"How do we do that?" Carol asked looking to Rick like he was mad, "I know we've lost, many others before this, but this... this is Valora."

"She was different," Glenn said, "she's someone I think that touched all of us."

"Is she coming back?" Melanie asked her dad who was holding her close to him.

Jenner sadly smiled to his daughter, "I'm sure she'll meet up with us, whether it's today, or later on."

"Are you sure?" Kayden asked looking up at his dad who had his hand resting on his head.

"I'm extra sure," Jenner smiled down at his son with sad eyes.

"Well, if dad says so, then it's true," Kayden said looking to the group.

"I'm sure that she is," Carol smiled down at Kayden as she held Sophia close to her, "I'm sure she is."

* * *

"Mom!" Steven shouted as he entered the house after they took out all of the nearby walkers.

"Val!" Daryl shouted spinning around in the house.

"I'll check downstairs," Steven said looking to Daryl as he rushed down to the basement door.

Daryl quickly rushed up the stairs, and opened each door with a loud bang. Babies room; not there. extra bedroom; not there. The last room there was was the master bedroom. Daryl swallowed the lump growing in his throat, and he quietly opened the door.

"Val?" he asked as he raised his crossbow as he walked into the room that looked like how he last saw it. The only difference was a piece of paper resting on the dresser. Daryl let go of his crossbow letting it fall to his side as he rushed over to the dresser and he grabbed the note.

"I'm safe, you don't have to worry about me. Someone found me in the house and now we're getting ready to set out. Don't worry, we'll meet up someday in the future. I love you so much Daryl, don't forget that. Tell Steven that I'm sorry that I broke my promise, and that I love him so much. Tell him that I'm so proud of him.

-Valora"

Daryl crumpled the note in his hand, and he looked to the door where Steven was standing in the doorway panting. Steven looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The only time he had ever seen Daryl with that expression was when he had lost his brother.

"So, did you find her?" Steven asked as he caught his breath.

"No," Daryl sighed as he rested his arms on the dresser.

"What did you find?" Steven asked taking a couple steps closed unsure is it was safe to get close to him.

"A note," Daryl breathed out as he rested his forehead on his hands holding the crumpled note.

"What did it say?" Steven swallowed back his fear.

"She said she was safe. That she loves the both of us so much, and that she's proud of you," Daryl breathed out as he stood up, and he punched the dresser making a hole where his fist was. Daryl took in a deep breath as he pulled his fist our of the dresser and walked over to the bed. Daryl sighed resting his head in his hands. The hand that he had punched through the dresser was now bleeding. Steven quietly walked over to sit on the bed next to his dad.

"What else did the note say?" Steven asked.

Daryl didn't feel like talking, so he handed the note over to him. Steven took the note and looked it over. Steven sighed and rested his hands on his knees. Steven felt hot tears fall down his face as he remembered the promise that his mother had made to him before the world have even shown signs of going to shit.

"No matter what," Steven started with a chuckle as a tear rolled down his cheek, "I'll always be there for you when you need me."

"That the promise she made to you?" Daryl asked now calming down slightly.

"Yup," Steven said standing up and wiping away the tears on his face, and he clenched his fists.

Steven walked over to the wall and took in a deep breath and lifted his fist smashing his fist into the wall creating a large hole. Steven pulled his fist out of the wall and fell to his knees.

"I don't care about the damned promise," Steven said letting the tears fall freely, "I just want you to come back. I don't care what happens to me. "

Daryl looked back to his son, and took in a deep breath before shaking his head and he stood up. Daryl walked over to where Steven was breaking down, and he put a hand on his shoulder. Steven looked up to his dad, who was holding his arms out. Steven felt more tears forming in his eyes, and he shot to his feet and wrapped his arms around his dad.

"I just want her to come back," Steven was starting to hiccup.

"I do to," Daryl said as he patted Steven on the back, "but looks like we'll meet up another day."

"I-I, I just want..." Steven started but wasn't able to finish.

"Let's head back," Daryl said patting his son on the back as he pulled away, "I bet the groups worried about us."

Steven nodded his head and vigorously wiped away the drying tears on his cheeks, and he took in a deep breath, "do you think we'll ever run into her again?"

"I'm sure we will," Daryl nodded his head, "she's a strong woman. I'm sure that she's going to stay alive for the babies."

Steven nodded his head, "well then there was no point to me freaking out back there."

"Guess so," Daryl smirked back to him and sighed as he began to head down the stairs, "let's just get out of here. It's too damn depressing."

"What the fuck man!?" an angry voice from outside shouted.

"What the hell?" another voice shouted back.

"I didn't want you to infest the place with the fuckers! Now we have to fucking take them all out thanks to you stupid ass!" the man shouted in a rage at the other.

Daryl peered through the blinds to see a couple of men standing in the middle of the street yelling at each other. Daryl motioned for Steven to stay low, and he watched as the two continued to argue.

"Look you told me you wanted the people gone, and now they are," the man shouted resting his hand on his rifle he had on the ground, "now all we have to deal with are the few walkers that they left behind."

**BANG!**

"Take that you stupid fucker," the enraged man muttered as he walked over and picked up the bloodied rifle from the ground, "what a waste of a bullet."

"Shit," Steven muttered as he looked away from the blinds and to Daryl who looked equally as shocked.

"No kidding," Daryl whispered as he peeked out the blinds one more time, and the man from before was staring straight at them, "shit. We gotta move."

Daryl stood up and Steven followed behind him. Daryl rushed to the back door, and froze when he saw ten walkers closing in on the door. He quietly slid the glass door closed, and turned around. Steven was being held in a headlock from the man and he was aiming a gun at his head.

Daryl kept his crossbow aimed at the man in case he tried anything. He his the fear that was welling up inside of him as his breaths started coming in short. The man laughed and that sent chills through his spine. The look of fear on Steven's face wasn't fake. He was scared for his life. Steven pulled at the man's arm in an attempt to somehow break free, but any attempt was futile.

"Who are you?" Daryl asked as he adjusted the crossbow.

"I should be asking you that," the man asked as he wildly grinned at him, "who the fuck are you, and what the hell are you doing in MY neighborhood?"

"It was empty when we got here," Daryl said narrowing his eyes.

"Liar," the man smiled pressing his gun harder onto Steven's head, "there was one person here wasn't there?"

"Ashton..." Steven muttered complete shock written all over his face.

"Oh yes," the man smiled bigger if possible, "sweet little Ashton, not able to harm a fly if he could. That's why we left him when we went to go and search for our friends."

"So you're telling me that Ashton was here as a spy?" Steven said looking to the man.

"Bingo," the man smiled, "now who the fuck are you, and why do you think you can just take something that's not yours to begin with?!"

"Look when we got here, we thought that it was deserted," Daryl said trying to ration with the man, "we don't mean any harm. If you just let us go..."

"Hell no!" the man shouted pressing the gun to Steven's head, "you guys are going to have to pay for what you've done."

"What did we do?" Daryl asked raising an eyebrow.

"You let all of these fucking zombies in, and now you're going to pay for it," the man smiled bigger.

"What do you want?" Daryl asked.

"One of your women," the man grinned wickedly.

Daryl's eyes widened along with Stevens, and Steven shook his head, "no way."

"What was that? I don't think you're in the situation to be talking like that mister," the man said digging the gun into Steven's head more.

"Let him go," Daryl said anger rising in the pit of his stomach.

"Or what?" the man laughed.

Daryl didn't speak, but he let his finger do the talking. He let the bolt fly and hit the man right through the eye. The man's mouth fell open, and he fell backwards on the ground. Steven collapsed to the ground on his knees, and coughed trying to get air back into his lungs. Daryl rushed over to him, and he put his hand on his shoulder as he looked down at his son.

"I'm fine," Steven breathed, "how did you know he wouldn't shoot me."

"He was out of ammo," Daryl said picking up the gun and showing him the empty barrel to the pistol.

"How did you..." Steven trailed off as Daryl stood shoving the gun in the back of his pants.

"He didn't shoot you for one," Daryl said holding a hand to help Steven up, "he would have just killed us both if his gun was loaded."

"That's true," Steven sighed.

"You alright?" Daryl asked turning his head to him,

"Fine. Let's just get out of here before any other unexpected guests show up," Steven said looking back to the glass door where walkers were banging on the glass in an attempt to get inside.

"Yeah," Daryl nodded his head as he pulled the bolt lodged in the man's brain and they walked outside.

* * *

Valora opened her eyes when she felt her shoulder being shaken. She peeked through her eyelashes to see Michonne squatted down in front of her with her hand rocking her shoulder back and forth. Valora sighed sitting up and she yawned looking around the empty kitchen.

"We need to get a move on," Michonne said whiled she stood up looking to the door, "the walkers are heading in this direction. If we stay here to long then they'll be on us in an instant."

Valora nodded her head, and she pulled herself up with the help of the counter, "let's get moving then."

"When should you be due?" Michonne asked as Valora was about to open the door.

"Four months, I think," Valora said putting a hand to her chin, "I'm not sure. I'd know if we had one of the calendars that we made."

"You mean this?" Michonne said handing her a calendar that she had made with Dale.

"Where did you get this?" Valora asked looking up to the woman in shock,

"Saw it sitting on your kitchen table," Michonne shrugged her shoulders walking past Valora and pushing the door open, "thought it meant something to you, so I grabbed it and shoved it in one of my bags."

"Thanks," Valora smiled looking to the calendar, "it was almost his birthday."

Michonne stopped in her tracks and she turned to face Valora. She didn't have to speak for Valora to know she was wondering who she was talking about.

"Daryl," Valora swallowed hard, "it was almost his birthday. He- he told me that he hasn't celebrated his birthday for a long time, and I was planning on throwing him a small party. Looks like that isn't going to happen now is it."

Michonne took a few steps so that Valora was within arms length, and she put a hand on her shoulder in a form of an apology. Valora smiled, and sighed as she nodded her head in a thanks. Michonne then turned around and Valora followed her.

Andrea was sitting at a booth waiting for the two of them to get there, "god, I couldn't stand having these two staring at me like that anymore," Andrea smirked as she pointed her thumb to the two walkers Michonne used to carry her things.

"Let's go," Michonne said grabbing the chain to the two walkers, and she pulled on them as she opened the entrance to the diner with her foot.

"So soon?" Andrea asked as Valora walked up to her side.

"Too many walkers are swarming here," Valora sighed as they walked outside following close behind Michonne "I guess they just wander, and now they're traveling together in large packs."

Andrea nodded her head, "do you think everyone else, made it out alive?"

"I'm sure they did," Valora smiled, "as long as Daryl and Rick are there to make sure everyone is safe, then I'm sure that everyone will be alive."

"Then why were we the only two to not make it with them?" Andrea asked, "why weren't they there for Dale when he was trying to protect me? Why weren't they there for you when you were alone in your house for god's sake!"

"Shhh," Valora said holding a finger to her lips, "we don't want to draw attention."

Andrea sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair, "I'm sorry. That was totally uncalled for."

"It's fine," Valora smiled, "we all have our moments. Some more than others."

"Shut up," Andrea smiled punching Valora's shoulder softly.

Valora laughed as she looked up to Michonne who walking in silence in front of the two with her two walkers in tow. Valora's smile dropped as she thought about who Michonne was, and what her story was. She rushed over to Michonne's side and smiled to her.

"So, what's your story?" Valora asked in a kind tone.

Michonne looked to her, and back to in front of her. Valora closed her eyes and sighed as she looked in front of her. Valora looked back to Michonne who still paid attention to the dirt on the ground then to her surroundings.

"Not much of a talker are you?" Valora sighed looking to her.

"You know my name," Michonne said in almost a whisper, "that should be enough."

"Well if we're all going to be sticking with each other for the rest of our lives, I think I want to know who I'm spending my life with," Valora said.

Michonne glanced Valora's way before she looked back in front of her, "I might talk about it later."

"Promise?" Valora asked holding out her pinky.

Michonne looked from her pinky, and back to in front of her, "I don't make promises."

"Okay then," Valora said rolling her eyes and slowing her pace to fall in step with Andrea again.

"It's pointless," Andrea sighed with a sad smile on her face, "I tried all night to get her to talk, but she wouldn't utter a word."

"Well this is going to be a shitload of fun now isn't it?" Valora said with as much enthusiasm she could manage.

"Yup," Andrea sighed putting her hands in her front pockets.

* * *

"Find anything?" Rick asked as Daryl cut the bike's engine and he stepped off.

"All we know is that she's alive," Daryl said squinting at the now rising sun.

"How?" Rick asked, and Daryl pulled out the note in his pocket that he found on the dresser, "who's she with?"

"No idea," Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "but I know she's safe if she says that she is."

Rick nodded his head, "any sign of her leaving the house that you were able to track down."

"She left through the back door," Daryl shrugged his shoulders, "there were ten walkers back there though, and we ran into... a problem," Daryl looked over to Ashton who was listening in and he saw his shoulders tense when he mentioned the trouble he had ran into.

"What kind of trouble?" Rick asked.

"Looks like Ashton wasn't alone," Daryl muttered walking up behind the kid, and clashing his fist in the back of his skull.

"What the hell!?" Ashton shouted as he jumped to his feet and turned around to face Daryl who hit him hard in the jaw.

Morgan and Rick grabbed onto Daryl's arms to keep him from beating the shit out of Ashton

"Daryl!" Rick shouted trying to snap the man out of his rage.

"This little prick had a couple of buddies, and almost got us all killed! The fucker deserves a good beating!" Daryl shouted trying to get out Rick and Morgan's grip.

"What's he talking about?" Lori asked holding her son close to her.

"Ashton had a couple of friends, and they're the ones who let the walkers in. The ones that separated us from Valora, and the ones that got Andrea and Dale killed," Steven said looking down to the ground, "I agree with dad. The fucker deserves a beating."

"This is what happens when we let people who we are unsure we can trust in our group," Rick said letting go of Daryl who had calmed down some.

"His buddies also put a gun to Steven's head!" Daryl shouted glaring at the boy who was rubbing at his jaw that was more likely broken.

"Is this true?" Rick asked looking over to Steven who silently nodded, and Rick shook his head, "we're cutting you lose."

"What? You can't do that," Ashton said dropping his hand to his side, "I thought the two of them were dead. I had no idea that they were alive. They were gone for a month when they said they'd be back the next day."

"I'm sorry," Rick said shaking his head.

"Come on," Ashton said looking to everyone with eyes that a mother couldn't say no to, "come on, Destanie, tell them that they're wrong."

Destanie looked to Ashton then to Rick, and she shook her head, "I'm sorry," she shook her head with tears in her eyes as she turned away, and rushed over to Carol who held an arm out to her.

"C-come on guys," Ashton said looking up at everyone, "y-you can't do this to me."

"You screw up on something like this, then it's gonna be a big price that you've gotta pay," Rick shook his head, "we're leaving you behind, or we can end it for you here."

"N-no, come on guys," Ashton pleaded looking around at the hard glares everyone was giving him, "I-I had no idea that they were-"

"My wife is out there, and she's with some fucking stranger," Daryl shouted standing up, "this is all because of the two fucking maniacs that you 'thought' were dead. Two of our people have died, and you fucking expect us to pity you?"

Ashton stared at Daryl in shock at his outburst, and his mouth moved up and down but no words came out as Daryl went on, "just kill the fucker then we can get a move on."

Rick looked to Steven who shook his head and followed behind Daryl who was stomping off in the direction of his bike. Rick looked around to everyone who looked uneasy about it, but overall they agreed with him. Rick sighed pulling out his gun, and he moved behind Ashton.

"I'm sorry," Rick muttered before hitting him in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, "now lets get out of here before he wakes up."

Everyone nodded respecting Rick's decision to keep the kid alive. Destanie shook her head with anger plastered on her face as she walked past him. She didn't bother to turn her head to look back when she passed him.

"You okay?" Carol asked walking up next to Destanie.

Destanie's jaw moved without the words coming out, and she shook her head pulling herself together, "I'm pissed, sad, happy. I just don't know. I'm more pissed than anything else."

"Pissed about what?" Carol sadly smiled to her.

"Pissed at myself for not seeing through his lies, and pissed that Valora is gone. She was like a mother figure to me," Destanie crossed her arms over her chest with tears welling up in her eyes, "it's just, ever since my mother died when this happened, I've been the only one I could actually rely on in this world. After Valroa came along, she's done nothing but treat me like, like her own family."

"She's a special one isn't she?" Carol smiled as she wrapped an arm around the girls shoulder, "she's touched everyone in the group in some way. I'm sure everyone is grieving over her."

"But Daryl said she's alive," Destanie said rubbing her eyes making sure that the tears wouldn't fall, "she's not dead so we shouldn't be grieving, we should be looking for her."

Carol smiled, "you're right. We shouldn't be grieving, we should try and find her."


	41. Alive

"Andrea," Valora glanced across the small fire to the woman with tears brimming her eyes.

Andrea slightly lifted her head, and a tear slipped out of her eye. She didn't bother to wipe it away, and she lifted her knees and hugged them to her body. Valora sadly smiled and sighed as she looked down to her stomach that was growing larger by the day.

"Maybe now isn't the time," Valora thought to herself as she rubbed her six-month pregnant belly, and she sighed looking over to Michonne who was keeping watch, "so, did you know those two walkers?"

Michonne looked to Valora from the corner of her eye, and then back out the window staying silent.

"Yes?" Valora shrugged her shoulders, and no response came out of Michonne. Valora sighed as she leaned back and put her weight on her hands, "I've already told you everything about me. At least tell me one thing about you."

Michonne looked over to Valora by only averting her eyes from the window, and she spoke, "yes. I knew them. That enough?"

"Plenty for now," Valora smiled, "but I expect more from you later on. You can't stay quiet forever!"

"Maybe now would be a good time to be quiet," Michonne nodded her head to the window.

Valora held a hand to her mouth, and smiled as she whispered, "sorry."

"Get some rest," Michonne nodded her head, "we'll have to move around tomorrow, so rest up."

"Yes ma'am," Valora smiled saluting her as she laid down in her sleeping bag, "night guys."

* * *

"Do you think we'll ever meet up with mom again?" Steven asked as he walked up to Daryl who was keeping watch from the top of the RV.

"Soon," Daryl nodded his head, "she's out there somewhere."

Steven climbed up the ladder and saw Daryl's shoes by the ladder. Steven smiled as he sat down slipping his shoes off. He walked up to sit next to his dad, and sighed as he plopped down.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Daryl asked looking around the abandoned parking lot that they were spending the night in.

"Had a nightmare," Steven sighed swinging his feet back and forth, "it was about mom."

"What happened to her?" Daryl asked.

"I dreamt that we ran into her, but she... wasn't her self," Steven said as he played with his thumbs in his lap, "she was still pregnant when she was the walker, but then, her stomach tore open and- and..."

Daryl put a hand on the kids shoulder, and Steven looked to him with tears in his eyes. Daryl lifted his hand bringing his son into a hug, "it's alright. That's not gonna happen."

Steven harshly breathed in as he tried to hold back the tears he wanted to let loose, "I- I know, i-it s just that.."

Daryl pulled away leaving a hand on his son's shoulder and he smiled, "I know your mother. She's a fighter. Nobody can kill her besides herself."

Steven smiled and looked down to his feet, "yeah. Sounds like mom."

"Walker," Daryl whispered as he grabbed his crossbow that never left his side. He aimed, and the bold flew hitting the walker between the eyes.

"You gotta teach me how to shoot one of those," Steven smiled as he watched the walker fall to the ground.

"Thought you were the weapons expert?" Daryl smirked as he reloaded his crossbow.

"Didn't get to the crossbow section of the book yet," Steven smirked, "wish I had."

"Damn right," Daryl said setting the crossbow back on the RV's roof.

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Lori asked as everyone was beginning to wake up, "we can't just stay on the run like this."

"She's right Rick," Hershal nodded his head as he looked over to Lori, "she's pregnant, and it's not good for the baby to be traveling like this."

"We also need to find more medication," Lori said crossing her arms over her chest, "we're out. Valora had the pills, and she took her bag with her when Rivendale was overrun."

Rick put a hand on his mouth and sighed, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Carol asked, "we've been on the run for two months now. We need to find a place and fortify it."

"Maybe Rivendale had cleared out," Beth said looking around to everyone, "we can always go back and check."

"Ashton might be back there," Destanie said looking down to her shoes, "we can't risk it. He might have a whole plan to kill us if we go back there."

"He could be dead," T-dog said, "a walker might have gotten to him."

"We can't risk is," Rick shook his head, "we already lost Morgan and Duane."

"We don't know that though," Jacqui shook her head, "they could be alive. Somewhere in this hellhole."

"We just have to assume the worst," Rick shook his head not liking the thought of the two of them being dead.

"Then what do we do now?" Glenn asked looked around to everyone, "we've lost so much. We can't afford to lose anymore. We need to find a place that we'll be able to hold up, and defend."

Rick looked behind him to the almost empty parking lot, and sighed, "we'll look around. We'll try and find a place. We will survive. We are not gonna lose anymore people."

* * *

"Jeez," Valora panted as she rested her hands on her knees, "I need to workout more."

"Same here," Andrea panted as she leaned against the wall.

Michonne wasn't out of breath as she stared out the window of the building, "we should get moving. They're starting to take notice."

"Already?" Valora said after letting out a deep breath, "damn walkers."

"Let's go," Michonne said turning around so they would go out the back door.

Valora sighed as she got her feet moving to follow behind Michonne and her two walkers, "it's hard running around with a couple of passengers."

"Looks like I might need to workout more than you do," Andrea panted as she fell into step with Valora, "I'm just as exhausted as you are, and I'm not carrying extra weight."

Valora smirked to herself as the three of them made their way to the next building. Then the next, and the next. Soon they were at the last building in the town, and they were headed into the forest that surrounded the forest. Valora was getting exhausted, and she felt like she was about to pass out.

"I- I need to stop," Valora panted as she put a hand on a tree holding herself up as she tried to catch her breath.

"We can stop, but only for a bit," Michonne said as she walked over and pulled out a water bottle from one of the walkers holding onto the bags. Michonne unscrewed the cap and handed the bottle to Valora. She took the bottle in her hand and downed half of it in only a couple of gulps.

"Thanks," Valora panted as she handed the bottle back to her. She lifted a hand and wiped away the water.

"Man, with how bad we smell, I'd say that we were walkers," Valora chuckled as she slid down the tree until her butt hit the ground.

"No kidding," Andrea panted as Michonne passed the water bottle to her.

Michonne turned around as she looked around in the forest for walkers that might have noticed them. Valora looked around as she sighed feeling herself catching her breath. Andrea wiped her mouth after taking a drink from the bottle, and she looked over to Valora. She walked over to her holding a hand out to her. Valora smiled up to her taking her hand, and she helped her up.

"Thanks," Valora smiled as she stood up and wiped the dirt that stuck to her pants.

"It's what friends do," Andrea smiled.

"Let's get a move on," Michonne said turning around and grabbing the chain she used to keep her walkers together, "there's a couple of them that are heading this way."

"Let's go," Valora smiled over to Andrea who nodded her head.

Andrea was starting to look better after those two months. She was devastated at the loss of her only family. She'd lost Amy, and now Dale. If she loses anymore people that she's close too, it's more likely that she'll just snap. Valora sighed thinking of Steven and Daryl.

"You think they went back?" Valora asked looking to Andrea as the moved slower than before in the forest.

"I'm sure they did," Andrea nodded her head, "I'm sure that they at least went back to check on you. They watched as Dale and I were cornered by at least twenty walkers."

"How did you get out?" Valora asked, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Dale shot enough of them so that the both of us could get out," Andrea sadly looked to the ground, "I guess that one of them grabbed his shirt, and pulled him back. I kept running, I thought he was right behind me, but- but he wasn't there. I left him for dead."

"You didn't know he was back there," Valora said putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure that he died happy knowing that at least you made it out alive."

"I just wish that it was me that got left behind," Andrea said shaking her head with her eyes closed, "Dale didn't deserve to die like that."

"Nobody does," Valora shook her head, "but you have to live on. Live on for Dale, and Amy."

Andrea nodded her head, "I'm not the same suicidal girl that I was when Amy died. Everyone has experienced loss. Hell, if someone didn't I'd be shocked. I'm going to live on for the both of them."

"That sounds like the Andrea I want to hear," Valora smiled rubbing her arm.

Andrea smirked as she stepped over a fallen tree. Valora smiled as she tried to hold her laughter back, but failed letting out a slight chuckle. Andrea let out a small giggle, and the two of them began to laugh. Michonne looked back to see what got the two of them to laugh, and she raised an eyebrow when she saw nothing around them that would possibly be funny.

"I- it's nothing," Valora smiled as she made herself stop laughing, "just the two of us being idiots. Nothing to worry about."

Michonne shrugged it off, "just don't get too loud. We don't want the walkers to take notice," Michonne nodded her head in the direction of about ten walkers that were just roaming around in the forest with no desired destination.

"Do you think they know where they're going? Or if they know what we're saying?" Valora asked, "if there's a part of them still alive in there."

"I try not to think about that when I'm bashing their face in," Andrea said in a quiet tone not wanting to alert the other walkers of their presence, "but yeah, I do think about it sometimes. Like when Amy died. I thought that maybe there was a part of her still in there."

Valora nodded her head stepping over a branch, "I thought that too when Skylar passed on."

"Was she someone close?" Andrea asked wanting to keep the conversation going.

"My sister," Valora smiled ducking over a low branch, "she caught the flu a week after this all started. Her husband was the one to put a bullet in her head. Now I wish that we had put a bullet in her head before she had turned."

"Why's that?" Andrea asked.

"To see loved ones trying to go after you and your family," Valora stopped, and shook the image of Skylar out of her mind, "it's heartbreaking. You die a little inside when you see that."

"I died more than a little inside when I saw Amy," Andrea shook her head, "I had no idea that she had turned though. What were they gonna do when I'd find the bed she was in was empty? Tell me that she just up and walked away?"

"I have no idea," Valora shook her head, "I wish that they had told us about the walkers inside the barn though. Would have made it much easier on the rest of us."

"And Shane," Andrea said looking to the ground.

"Don't tell me that you actually liked him?" Valora asked scrunching her face.

"Well you got Daryl, Jacqui got T-dog, Rick and Lori are married. Only guy left," Andrea shrugged her shoulders, "besides, he's actually pretty good."

"He's good? Hell he's the opposite, he tried to kill Rick," Valora said looking to the woman in shock.

"Not that good," Andrea shook her head, "I mean he's good."

"Ohhh," Valora nodded her head, "guess the crazy trait makes you amazing in bed."

"Shut up," Andrea said as she lightly punched Valora on the shoulder.

Valora chuckled, "Daryl's great. Beyond that to be honest. It's almost like he can read my mind."

"Really?" Andrea said, "man, wish that I could have hooked up with him before you came here."

Valora sent her a glare which got Andrea to laugh, "that better be a joke, or bitches are gonna die."

"Kidding, kidding," Andrea laughed holding her hands up.

"Good," Valora glared at her, but then couldn't hold back her laugh.

"Sh," Michonne said as she squatted down and moved her walkers to stand behind a tree. Valora squatted down the best she could in her jeans that were getting a little tight. Andrea squatted down next to Valora, and they looked in the direction that Michonne was looking in. A herd of more that thirty walkers were roaming around in the forest.

"What are we gonna do?" Valora mouthed to Andrea who shrugged her shoulders.

"Michonne," Valora whispered getting the woman's attention, then she mouthed, "what's the plan?"

Michonne looked back to the herd of walkers, then back to Valora, "we go around."

The three of them moved back more than twenty feet, and they stood up. Valora sighed as she stood up rubbing her sore back from having to crouch the entire way. Michonne motioned for them to follow her, and they did. Valora and Andrea did their best to keep up, and to not step on any branches.

After an hour of crouching, and making sure not to step on anything that would attract attention, they finally made their way around the herd that was larger than expected. Valroa panted as she leaned against a tree.

"You wouldn't happen to have anymore water would you?" Valora panted as she tried to catch her breath.

"That was the last of it back there," Michonne said putting a hand on Valora's shoulder, "can you make it to the next building."

"Y-yeah," Valora panted, "I'll be good as long as I can get something to eat when we get there."

"Consider it done," Michonne said and she nodded to Andrea, "keep an eye on her. If she gets tired make sure to help her. We need to get to the next building fast. It's getting darker faster than I expected, and it's getting cold."

Andrea nodded her head moving over to Valora. Andrea helped Valora to move away from the tree. Valora's knees gave out on her, and she started to fall until Michonne and Andrea helped her up. Valora panted as she stood up, and took in a deep breath.

"We need to move," Valora told herself, "you can rest all you want when we're safe. Now move it."

Valora pep talked her body into letting her exhaust it even more in order to get out of there. Michonne walked ahead, and Andrea stood by Valora's side making sure that her knees wouldn't give way again. Valora held back the urges to want to just collapse there and then, and pushed on. Her back was killing her, and her feet were aching worse than that. To top it off she was getting hungry, and she felt herself getting dehydrated.

"Finally," Valora breathed out as they came across a house in the forest.

"I'll check it out," Michonne said handing the chains over to Andrea, "I'll be back soon."

Andrea took the chain not knowing what to do with it, so she just held it. Valroa walked over to a tree, and leaned against it. Andrea made sure that she wouldn't slide down and pass out on the ground. Valora panted as she stood there, and she felt herself slipping in and out of consciousness as she stood there.

"Okay," Michonne said as she walked over to them, "house is clear now. It should be safe enough for a couple of days."

"Thank you fucking Jesus," Valora smiled pushing herself off the tree almost losing her balance.

"There's food and fresh water in there," Michonne said walking over to Valora to help her up the stairs and into the house, "we should be able to stay here a couple of days before we have to up and move again."

"Can't we just stay in one place for at least a week?" Andrea asked as she tugged the walkers behind her, "I really need a break from all of this running, and I'm sure Valora needs it more than me."

Michonne looked to Valora next to her. Valora was pale, and she was panting like a dog. Michonne didn't want to stay in places for too long because the walkers wander, and they seem to wander to where people are. She sighed.

"We'll stay here until the food runs out," Michonne said giving in, "only because we have a pregnant woman. Otherwise we'd be in and out of here."

"Yes," Andrea said shooting her fist in the air in victory.

Once Michonne had Valora in the house and resting on the couch she went into the kitchen to get her some water and food for her. Andrea stood by the front door with the two walkers, and finally she gave in wanting to rest, and she made sure that the walkers couldn't get away.

Andrea walked in the living room, and sighed as she sat in the chair across from Valora, "feels good to relax for once."

"No kidding," Valora smiled as she tried to calm her breathing down, "feels good to just sit down on a couch."

Andrea chuckled as she watched Michonne walk into the room with a glass of water. Michonne sat down next to Valora and she passed her the water. Valora grabbed the glass and downed the water in one gulp.

Valora wiped away the excess water, and handed the glass back to Michonne, "thanks. I really needed that."

Andrea stood up, "I'm gonna go see how much food we got."

"There's enough for us to last a couple of weeks," Michonne said, "as long as we ration it."

"Well that's good," Andrea sighed, "I think it might start snowing soon. So us coming across this house is a damn miracle."

"No kidding," Valora sighed as she leaned her head back, "I think we could use the break."

Michonne stood up, "you hungry?"

"Starved," Valora said picking her head up, "I don't care what it is. I'll eat anything."

Michonne smiled as she walked into the kitchen and Andrea followed.

"I wonder if Steven and Daryl are okay," Valora thought to herself as she looked over to the window, "I know they're alive. They have to be."

Valora shook her head ridding herself of the bad thoughts she was having of her son and husband being walkers. She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, and sighed as she rested her elbows on her knees.

"Don't think like that," Valora whispered to herself, "they're alive."


	42. Baby

Valora paced back and forth in the main room as she waited for Michonne to return from her run. Andrea was in the other room puking her guts up, and Valora was nearing her due date. Valora bit her thumb as she eagerly waited for Michonne to return with the medicine that Andrea was in need of.

The door swung open, and Michonne quietly entered, "any trouble?" Valora asked with worry dripping from her voice.

"No," Michonne said looking to Valora then to the heavy metal door that Andrea was behind, "it was quiet."

Valora pursed her lips together not believing a word that came from her mouth, "we need to get moving."

Michonne kept quiet as she walked past Valora and into the meat locker Valora silently followed behind her. Michonne looked to the pile of blankets that the two of them had left Andrea. Michonne looked up to Valora raising an eyebrow. They got their answer when they heard the sounds of Andrea vomiting from the other part of the meat locker.

Michonne and Valora made their way around the wall. Andrea was leaning against a wall with a single blanket wrapped around her body. She was vomiting on the ground, and coughing harshly. Michonne quickly moved to her side and patted her back in an attempt to somehow comfort the sick woman.

Andrea sighed in relief after she stopped vomiting and she opened her eyes barely, "I feel like shit," Andrea muttered as she wiped her mouth.

Michonne reached into her pocket and pulled out a package that contained the medicine Andrea needed. Valora stood behind and watched and Michonne handed her the medicine, and then pulled out a water bottle for her to swallow the pills. Andrea sighed after taking a long drink from the water and she began to pant as Michonne held the water bottle on her forehead in an attempt to cool her down.

"How is it out there?" Andrea panted.

Michonne was quiet for a second before answering, "same. It's quiet."

Andrea looked up to her before shaking her head, "you're lying," Andrea muttered.

"We should go in a few days," Michonne gave in giving her the honest answer.

"They're coming," Andrea muttered, "you should go."

"No," Michonne shook her head.

"I'll hold the both of you back," Andrea said looking up to the both of them with a harsh glare, "Valora's pregnant and I don't want to be the reason for her babies dying. You have to leave me here, I'll slow the both of you down."

"We won't be moving fast because it's hard for me as it is to walk around now," Valora sadly smiled down to Andrea, "we're not leaving a friend behind."

"I can take care of myself," Andrea muttered, "I saved your guys' asses all winter didn't I?"

Andrea smirked as she looked to the both of them making Valora and Michonne to slightly grin. Andrea leaned her head to the side and let out a harsh cough, followed by another. Michonne reached into her bag, and unscrewed the cap to the water bottle. She was about to help Andrea to drink the water but Andrea smacked it away from her.

"I won't have you guys dying for me," Andrea muttered wrapping herself in the blanket, "good soldier won't leave your post. Screw you."

Michonne looked to Andrea, then glanced back to Valora who just shrugged her shoulders, "we'll go in a few days," Michonne sighed.

"If we stay," Andrea started when Michonne and Valora were about to walk into the other part of the meat locker, "I'll die here."

Michonne and Valora shared a glance before Valora spoke up, "we should go today. We can always spend the night at another building if need be."

Michonne nodded her head, "I'll pack our things."

* * *

"Rick, we can't keep running like this," Hershal said after they were far enough away from the house that was quickly overrun by walkers, "it's not good for Lori or the baby."

"I know," Rick said shaking his head.

"Rivendale is looking like a great option as of now," Glenn admitted shrugging his shoulders.

"Maybe mom's back there," Steven said with slight hope in his voice, "it's been at least four months since we've been there. Maybe Ashton isn't there anymore. It's worth a shot."

"We can't risk it," Rick shook his head, "and knowing your mother she wouldn't stick close to something dangerous."

"She'd more likely head to the coast," Daryl admitted, "she said that Dale talked to her about how that was the safest bet. Get a boat and ride the hell outta here."

"I bet there's no more boats left," Jenner sadly said, "after this panic, boats would probably be everyone's first shot at safety."

"Daryl and I'll go hunting for now," Rick said holding a hand out, "you guys stay here. I need to think this over first."

"Bout time we go hunting," Daryl said loading his crossbow, "that owl back there didn't really hit the spot."

Daryl and Rick walked through the forest following train tracks that they had come across. Rick paid more attention to the rails then to his surroundings. His mind was clouded with thoughts of how his wife had betrayed him behind his back. What got him the most was how she had reacted when he had told her of Shane trying to kill him, and she looked to him like he was the bad guy.

"It's a shame," Daryl muttered snapping Rick out of his thoughts, and he looked up to the prison that Daryl was looking at.

Rick slowed his pace to a stop as he looked at the prison. A good twenty or so walkers were roaming around in the field behind the fence surrounding the prison. Rick looked to Daryl then back to the prison.

"That'd be the perfect place to hold up in," Rick said looking to Daryl with a smile of joy, "it's perfect."

"Remember last time we had fences though?" Daryl said as a reminder of what had happened last time, "it could happen all over again."

"I'm not gonna let that happen this time," Rick said shaking his head, "after we're done hunting we're getting the group together, and we're going to clear out the prison."

Daryl nodded his head, "sounds like a plan."

* * *

"We haven't had this much space since the farm!" Carol shouted as they made their way into the field after clearing it out.

"Wooooooooohhhhhhh!" T-dog shouted as he threw his arms up in the air getting a laugh out of everyone.

"This'll be a great place for the kids to grow up," Lori smiled as she put hand on her belly that was about to pop.

"And a great place to give birth," Carol smiled, "I know it's not a hospital, but it's better than giving birth on the run."

"No kidding," Lori smiled as she looked up to Rick in the guard tower.

"We should go get dinner started," Carol smiled, "Daryl and Rick caught some squirrel."

"Let's do that," Lori smiled.

"C'mon Melanie," Carol smiled looking back to the little girl who was holding her father's hand, "want to help us get dinner started?"

"Yes!" Melanie shouted with tons of enthusiasm as she rushed over to Carol's side.

"I hope I have a little girl," Lori smiled as she held a hand on her belly.

Carol smiled as she held Melanie close to her as she looked to Lori who was smiling at the little girl.

* * *

"Tomorrow we'll get the bodies together, keep them away from the water," T-dog said breaking the silence as the group ate their food, "maybe dig a canal under the fence so that we'll have plenty of fresh water."

"The soil looks good," Hershal said looking down to the ground, "we could plant some seed. Plant some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans..." Hershal looked up to where Rick was checking the fence where there were walkers on the inner fence, "that's his third time around. If there was any part of it compromised, he'd of found it by now."

"This'll be a good place to have the baby," Beth smiled as she looked over to Lori, "safe."

Lori nodded her head with a smile, "yeah, it will be," she smiled looking over to where Rick was still pacing back and forth around the fence, "where'd Steven head off too?"

"He went to go give his dad something to eat," Beth smiled turning her body to look at where Daryl and Steven were sharing a laugh, "Daryl won't eat anything unless you give it to him."

"Ain't that the truth," T-dog smirked to himself getting a laugh out of the rest of the group.

"Bethy," Hershal said looking into the fire, "sing Patty Riley for me? I haven't heard that since, I think your mother was alive."

"Daddy, not that one please," Maggie said with a sad look in her eyes.

"How about, uh, Parting Glass?" Hershal asked really wanting to hear his daughter sing.

"No one wants to hear," Beth protested not wanting to sing.

"Why not?" Glenn smiled in her direction.

Beth looked up to him, and internally sighed, "okay," she smiled as she started to sing,

"_Oh all the money that e'er I spent._

_I spent it in good company_

_And all the harm that e'er I've done._

_Alas, it was to none but me_

_And all I've done for want of wit._

_To memory now I can't recall_

_So fill to me the parting glass._

_Goodnight and joy be with you all_."

Then Maggie joined in with singing with her,

"_Oh all the comrades that e'er I've had_

_Are sorry for my going away_

_And all the sweethearts that e'er I've had._

_Would wish me one more day to stay_

_But since it falls unto my lot._

_That I should rise and you should not._

_I'll gently rise and I'll softly call._

_Goodnight and joy be with you all_."

While the two of them sang Rick walked up, and Carl handed him his share of the food. Rick held his bowl over for Lori to take a portion of his share. Lori didn't take any at first, but when Rick didn't move the bowl she took a small piece from his food and he finally pulled the bowl away.

"Beautiful," Hershal smiled as he looked to his daughter.

"I love this girl," Steven smiled really big as he bear hugged Beth from behind ruining the touching moment, but overall getting a laugh out of everyone.

"We better all turn in," Rick said as he nodding his head to the guard tower at the front of the prison, "I'll take watch over there. We got a big day tomorrow."

Rick sighed looking down to his hands as he set his food on the ground, "look, I know that we're all exhausted. This was a great win, but we gotta push just a little bit more. Most of the walkers are dressed as walkers and prisoners. So it looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean that the supplies could be intact. They have an infirmary, commissary."

"An armory," Daryl suggested as he listened to Rick.

"That'd be outside of the prison itself, but not too far away. The wardens offices' would have information on the location, weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a gold mine."

"We're dangerously low on ammunition," Hershal said looking to Rick, "we'll run out before we even make a dent."

"That's why we have to go in there," Rick said looking around to everyone, "hand to hand. After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it. These assholes don't stand a chance," Rick showed somewhat of a smile as he looked to his son before he got up to go take his post.

* * *

"Do you hear that?" Valora asked as she got Michonne and Andrea to stop.

"Hear what?" Andrea muttered as she rubbed her nose.

"It sounds almost like, a helicopter," Valora said raising an eyebrow as she turned around to look in the direction that the noise was coming from.

Then, just over the trees the helicopter came into sight. A thrill of excitement rushed through Valora's body that there were actually other survivors other than the three of them. Valora raised her arms to about the top of her head before they froze there, unmoving. Smoke began to pour from the helicopter, and the beeping noise coming from within the helicopter could be heard. Michonne had pulled Valora back as a helicopter wing had came down and hit the ground right where she had been previously standing.

They watched as the helicopter disappeared into the forest, and the loud thud echoed of the helicopter crashing into the earth. Valora cringed as she heard a tiny explosion, and then she opened her eye as she looked over to Andrea and Michonne who had shock written all over their faces.

"Let's go check it out," Valora said nodding her head as she swallowed back all of the fear she was holding, "they might have survived the crash."

"What if they're bad people?" Andrea said in a stuffy voice.

"Then we'll deal with it then, but I'm sure that they're in the military because not just anyone can fly a helicopter," Valora said as she stepped over the guardrail and into the field to the forest.

Michonne and Andrea followed closely behind. Valora held a hand to her stomach that had been giving her trouble since early in the morning. Sharp pain racked her body with every step, yet she pushed on. Valora felt herself breaking into a sweat as they approached what was left of the helicopter. Michonne tied her walkers up to the tree next to where she was going to leave Andrea and Valora.

Andrea bent over and puked up what little they had eaten for lunch, causing Valora to feel a little sick to herself. Michonne rubbed the girls shoulders and walked her over to sit behind a bush.

"Don't push yourself," Michonne whispered.

Valora walked over and leaned against the tree. She slowly moved to sit down on the ground, and she sighed in relief. Sitting down had helped ease the pain somewhat. She moved her head to look in the direction that Michonne was heading in. She watched as she moved around something on the ground to look inside the helicopter.

Suddenly a huge rush of pain overcame her, and she cringed in pain curling her toes in her shoes and biting her lip to hold back a pain-filled scream. Andrea glanced over at Valora in her pain-stricken state, and she moved closer to her.

Andrea put a hand on her shoulder, and Valoras eyes snapped open at her touch, "everything alright?" Andrea asked in a hoarse voice.

"Probably just the baby kicking a little too rough," Valora panted.

"You never acted like this when the baby kicked too hard," Andrea said raising an eyebrow, "are you sure everything's fine?"

"Yep," Valora smiled leaning her head back against the tree as she breathed out, "just great."

Michonne quietly moved back to where Valora and Andrea were when she caught sight of others approaching. In the world that they lived in now, it wasn't smart to just trust anyone with a car anymore. Michonne crouched behind the bush where Andrea was puking yet again, and she patted the girls back to help her get it out of her system. She looked over to Valora who had broken into a sweat, and she was breathing heavily.

"You okay?" Michonne quietly asked.

"F-fine," Valora breathed out.

Michonne didn't say anymore as she looked back to where there were now people surrounding the helicopter. Andrea wiped her mouth as she looked up to them now, and her eyes widened.

Andrea was about to speak but Michonne covered the girls mouth. A scrawny man walked up to the helicopter, and looked around the forest his eyes landing on their location. Michonne froze, and moved more under the bush before he looked away as if he never even knew they were there. The man moved so that he could look and see what was inside the helicopter.

"We got a breather!" the man shouted to his group of bodyguards.

Andrea couldn't hold back her coughs, and she covered her mouth to muffle the sound the best she could. They looked to the bodyguards who hadn't taken notice to them. Valora was overwhelmed with another wave of pain, and this one was worst by far.

The bushes behind them rustled around, and Michonne readied her sword for whatever would approach them. Michonne was about to take out the walker until Andrea pointed out that there was one of the bodyguards that would notice her movements. The walker had it's mind set on getting to the loud noise of where the helicopter crashed, and walked past them.

All of the men reacted, and aimed their weapons towards the walker. A man with a bow and arrow let the arrow fly, and the arrow lodged in the walkers eye. Valora let out a tiny scream as another wave of pain overcame her.

The leader of the group was helping take the injured man from the helicopter, and Andrea quietly said, "he's saving him. We should show ourselves."

"Not yet," Michonne said, as she looked over to Valora who had broken into a sweat, and was now panting.

"Valora's in pain. We need help," Andrea whispered harshly, "we have to show ourselves."

Michonne stayed silent, and watched as the two men set down the survivor. They moved over to where Michonne saw the man cut in half on the ground. The scrawny man pulled out his knife as he stared down at the man cut in half. He squatted down and lodged the knife in the mans brain.

Andrea covered her mouth as another wave of coughs overcame her. Michonne looked over to her two walkers who were starting to act up. Inhuman growls came out of them as they swayed back and forth in an attempt to get free of the chains. Michonne looked back to the men surrounding the helicopter, and they were starting to take notice to their two walkers.

Michonne was quickly to her feet, and in one swift movement, both of the walkers were headless. Andrea and Valora both looked up to her in shock. Michonne quietly sheathed her sword, and went back to Andrea's side.

"Let's roll out," the scrawny man shouted to his men sending relief through the three women as they watched the group of men slowly begin to leave.

A branch behind them snapped, and Michonne drew her sword, but stopped, "ah, ah, ah, easy does it girl. Mine's a whole lot bigger than yours. Now put down your weapons."

Valora's jaw dropped as she looked to the man who had caught them, "M-Merle?"

"Well shit," Merle laughed as he jabbed his knife into the walker approaching from behind, "if it ain't sugar tits, and little bonnie."

Merle stood up and smiled as he kept his gun aimed at them, "how's about a big ol hug for your good ol pal Merle."

"We thought you were dead," Andrea said after she shook the shock out of her mind.

"Not quite," Merle smirked to himself, "only Merle can kill Merle."

"Oh shit," Valora mumbled getting all of their attention.

"What's wrong?" Michonne asked quickly moving over to her side.

"I-I think the baby's coming," Valora said holding onto her stomach as she looked up to Michonne in shock.


	43. Welcome to Woodbury

I am terribly sorry for the late update! I hope that you can forgive me. Unfortunately my only computer decided to give out on me, and I had to go and get a new laptop. The new one I bought last week had so many problems so I had to bring it back to get a new one. This week I've been busy trying to set the darn thing up, and now I've finally set it up. I hope that you like the chapter though!

* * *

"Is she okay?" Andrea immediately asked as a doctor walked out of the room after the screams had silenced.

"She's fine," the doctor smiled, "two healthy babies. A boy and a girl."

"Can we go see her?" Andrea asked about ready to walk past the lady.

"She's asleep, but you can go on in," the lady smiled opening the door for them to go in.

Andrea nodded her head with a thanks, and Michonne didn't even acknowledge the woman as they made their way in the room. Andrea rushed to Valoras side, and made sure that there was nothing wrong, and to her comfort, nothing seemed to be bad.

"Thank god she's okay," Andrea sighed, "I'm glad that they found up when they did. Otherwise Valora would be giving birth in a goddamned forest."

"We'll leave once she's ready to leave," Michonne said looking down to her feet, "I don't like the looks of this place."

"Come on Michonne," Andrea sighed, "we haven't been able to relax like this in, forever. I'm sure that we could stay here a little longer."

Michonne stayed silent letting Andrea know the answer. Michonne was a stubborn one, and she wouldn't back down too easy when she had her mind set. Andrea sighed as she moved over to the chair to sit next to Valora's bed.

"We'll see where things head," Andrea sighed looking up to Michonne with a pleading look, "but will you at least give this place a shot?"

"Alright," Michonne mumbled not wanting to deal with Andrea at the moment.

Andrea had a victory party in her head as she smiled in victory. Andrea looked to Valora who was breathing at a normal pace, and from the sound of the heart monitor her heartbeat sounded normal. Andrea leaned back in the chair and she slowly felt the tiredness of the day kicking in.

* * *

Valora jolted up, and cringed at the brightness of the white room. She groaned holding her stomach, and her heart stopped. She opened her eyes quickly as she looked down to see that her stomach had shrunk. She looked around the room in a panic not noticing Andrea and Michonne in the chairs behind her. She pulled the needles out of her arm as she tried to stand up.

A loud bang had awoken Michonne. When she opened her eyes the bed was empty. She was to her feet in a second causing Andrea to wake up. Michonne quickly rushed to the other side of the bed to see Valora attempting to get to her feet. Michonne quickly put a hand on her shoulder to have it swatted away.

Valora looked to up to see Michonne staring down at her in shock, "wh-where are we? Wh-what happened?"

"You're telling me you don't remember?" Michonne asked helping her up to her feet.

"Not much," Valora said holding her head as if she was trying to remember the events from the day before, "all I can remember is seeing that helicopter crash. Are we at a military base or something?"

"Not exactly," Andrea shrugged her shoulders, "it's close."

"What happened? D-did something happen to my babies?" Valora asked in a panic as she grabbed Michonne's shirt tightly.

"You don't remember giving birth yesterday?" Andrea asked raising an eyebrow.

"Can I see them?!" Valora shouted enthusiastically making her face brighten up.

"We'll have to wait for the doctor to get here," Andrea sighed sitting back in her chair.

Michonne looked around the room taking in the surroundings. Valora looked over to her and raised an eyebrow to her. Michonne looked Valora's way and shook her head.

"There's something wrong with this place," Michonne muttered, "I don't like it."

"You don't like anything," Andrea waved her hand in a jokingly way, but Michonne didn't take it as a joke.

"We should leave when you're ready to," Michonne muttered as she moved to look out the window that revealed a quiet street with few people walking through.

"Are you serious Michonne?" Andrea laughed, "we deserve a little break. At least let us stay a little longer than right after she's ready to move."

"I agree with Michonne," Valroa said looking to Michonne.

"Are you serious?" Andrea laughed looking to Valora with a shocked expression.

"Her intuition got us through the winter," Valora shrugged, "I'll put my kids and my life in her hands if I have to."

Andrea shook her head and stood up, "whatever you guys say."

"Rise and shine," Merle smiled opening the door with a chuckle.

"Where's that 'governor' we talked to last night?" Andrea asked.

"We're planning on leaving as soon as Valora can get to her feet," Michonne butted in.

"He's a busy man," Merle said as he held his stump with his other hand in front of him, "he's got a whole town to look after."

"How many people are here?" Valora asked.

"Hell if I know," Merle shrugged his shoulders, "too damn many if you ask me."

"If you don't mind me asking," Valora started, "how did you survive back there? At the CDC?"

"Someone was shouting outside my room, and I woke up. Nobody was there," Merle shrugged his shoulders, "I made my way outside, and boom. Too bad the damn blast took my hand with it."

"I've got some questions for Jenner when we meet up again," Valora mumbled to herself.

"If we meet them again," Andrea commented.

"We will meet up with them again," Valora glared at the woman, "jeez, even after a year you're still Mrs. Negative."  
"Oh, we gonna have a little catfight?" Merle chuckled earning glares from the two woman, and he put his hands up in defence, "kidding, kidding."

"So why'd you come here?" Michonne asked wanting answers.

Merle glanced behind him at the guard across the hall, and he slowly closed the door behind him, "I want information about my brother. I'm sure you guys are still together as a group."

"We haven't been in contact with them in months," Andrea shook her head.

"Where was the last place you guys were with them?" Merle asked grabbing the chair next to the door.

"Rivendale? That was the name of it wasn't it?" Valora asked looking over to Andrea with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah," Andrea nodded her head as she looked over to Merle, "that was where we were separated."  
"It's a damn shame," Merle muttered messing with the straps on his stump.

"What's wrong?" Valora asked.

"We checked out Rivendale not too long ago," Merle sighed, "the only thing there was this kid who was fucking crazy shouting about how lonely he was."

"Ashton..." Andrea muttered looking to Valora with pity in her eyes, "did he say why he was alone?"

"He was saying that he was sorry for lying," Merle rubbed his forehead as he tried to remember, "that's all i remember."

"It' must have been pretty bad for Rick to leave him behind," Valora said looking down to her hand, "I hope that Destanie's taking it okay."

"Me too," Andrea muttered.

"So's that all you know about my brother?" Merle asked with a slight disappointment in his voice.

Valora and Andrea slowly nodded their heads, "if we knew anymore we would definitely tell you."

"It's a damn shame," Merle sighed, "I was really hoping that you knew where he was."

"I wish we knew where he was too," Valora sighed looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Your son still okay?" Merle asked showing slight sympathy.

"He's a tough kid," Valora smiled trying to hide the aching pain in her heart, "I'm sure that he's fine."

"So he is," Merle smirked, "I'm sure your boys still out there."

"Thanks Merle," Valroa smiled.

"Now how 'bout I go and get your two younglings over here. Let them say hello to their mommy," Merle chuckled as he set the chair against the wall.

"Was that Merle showing sympathy?" Andrea asked shock written all over her face.

"Merle told me that I remind him of his mother," Valora sighed as she leaned against the wall behind her, "Daryl told me that his mother was a drunk, but she still showed the two of them how much she loved them. I'm sure that she was a nice lady."

After Valora said that a lady in shrubs walked into the room holding two bundles of blankets. Valora's heart soared when the nurse approached her as she handed the two small children to her. Valora couldn't help but smile from ear to ear when she saw the two little ones sucking on their thumbs.

"The on on the left is a boy, and the one on the right is a girl," the nurse smiled as she placed a hand on Valora's shoulder, "congratulations."

"Thank you," Valora smiled to her, "for everything."

"It's my job," the lady smiled before she left the room.

"Oh my gosh," Andrea smiled as she moved closer to get a better look at the two babies, "the boy looks just like you, and the little girl looks just like Daryl."

"I know," Valora smiled as the little kids whined slightly causing Valora to softly hum to them.

"What are you going to name them?" Andrea asked looked to her.

"I don't know," Valora sighed, "I think I'll wait."

"Wait till when?" Michonne asked looking to the two little kids.

"Till we meet up with Daryl," Valora sighed, "he's their father too. He needs to take part in naming them."

"But..." Andrea started but Valora cut her off.

"We'll meet up with them soon. I can feel it," Valora smiled looking down to her two kids, "I know it.

* * *

"I'm going hunting," Daryl said swinging his crossbow over his shoulder, "we'll need the food.'

"I'll go with you," Glenn stepped up.

Daryl shook his head, "I do better on my own. I'll be back before dark I promise you that."

"Don't take too long," Rick shouted to him making sure that he heard him.

Daryl lifted a hand and waved it to them as he made his way down the path, and out into the wilderness. Daryl hummed a toon as he closed the wire they used to hold the fence together. As he turned around there was a walker not a foot away from him. He had his hand on his knife when a bullet went straight through the walkers brain. He turned around to see Steven standing behind the fence that he had just closed up.

"I don't want you coming with me," Daryl frowned when Steven began to undo the wire.

"Too bad. Looks like you're stuck with me," Steven smiled as he stepped through the hole, "walker right behind you."

Daryl turned around, and without any effort he lodged his skinning knife into the walkers brain. He cringed as he pulled the knife out with a slosh. He wiped the rotten blood on his pant leg, and turned around to see Steven standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Not bad," Steven smiled.

"Shut up," Daryl muttered as he pulled out his crossbow, and the two of them made their journey into the wilderness  
. "They're gone," Beth sighed dropped her hand to her side, "so what's the plan for the rest of the day?"

"We really should clear out the rest of the prison," Rick said looking back, but then he shook his head, "but I'm not comfortable doing that unless Daryl's here."

"We should take care of the bodies in the field," T-dog suggested, "maybe some of us could start digging a way for the water to get in here."

"That sounds like a good plan," Rick nodded his head, "first lets take care of the walkers, then we'll handle the water."  
"So dad," Steven said stepping over a fallen tree, "do you think mom's still out there?"

"I know she is," Daryl said looking around the forest, "she's a strong woman, and I know that she won't go down that easy."

"Do you think my grandma might still be alive?" Steven asked looking to Daryl, "I know it sounds silly, but she's all about survival. She isn't that old either, I mean she's... fifty... fifty-one. She had my mom when she was eighteen."

"How into survival is she?" Daryl asked turned around to look at his son.

"Like, overboard," Steven said widening his eyes a little, "I know that she probably went to her parents house, I know, shocking that they're still alive, but her dad had this huge collection of knives and swords. They also have a dyslexic son, so they probably made a stand at their house."

"I'm sure she's alive," Daryl nodded his head turning around to continue tracking the small squirrel tracks, "if she went there, then she might still be there."

"Maybe you and I can go there," Steven suggested, "I mean, if there's a chance of them being alive, I'd want to know."

"Is it far from here?" Daryl asked.

"Well, it's in um," Steven rubbed the back of his neck trying to remember, "I think so."

"Do you know where it is?" Daryl asked ducking under a low branch on a tree.

"If I had a map then maybe," Steven mumbled, and Daryl pulled out a map and handed it to him, "yeah. We're close. It's right here. About two-three miles away from here."

"That'll take a while to get there," Daryl said looking down to the map, "we should let Rick know first. We can go look tomorrow."

Steven was about to protest, but he closed his mouth and nodded his head, "okay. I can handle that."

A scream filled the forest causing Steven and Daryl yo slightly jump. Steven looked to Daryl. Daryl didn't say anything and he rushed through the forest, and Steven quickly followed behind. The scream sounded like it had come from a woman which got Daryl to quicken his pace.

They were getting closer as the scream was growing, and they ran into an open field. Steven looked around the field for the source of the screaming. Daryl did the same, and he saw movement in the field, and he quickly rushed over. There was a walker on top of another person, and he quickly shot the walker in the head. The walker fell on top of the person, but was quickly shoved off as the person quickly backed away from it.

Daryl froze as he looked to the woman. She had black hair, and was fairly thin. Her face had dirt and blood all over it. He expression caused her to look like a deer in headlights. Daryl snapped out of his thoughts as Steven came into his line of sight as he hugged the woman tightly.

"W-what?" was all the woman was able to say.

"You couldn't have forgotten me," Steven smiled as a tear slowly ran down his cheek, "it's me, Steven."

"S-steven?" the woman said shock written all over her face, and she snapped out of it pulling him into a tight embrace, "oh thank god."

"Who's this?" Daryl asked confused at what had just happened.

"Say hello to Grandma," Steven smiled pulling out of the hug.

"So, you're Valora's mom?" Daryl asked holding a hand out for the woman.

"Do you know where she is?" the woman asked in a panic, "my other daughter too, Skylar."

The woman pulled out a picture of Valora standing next to a woman with blonde hair, and grey eyes. Daryl looked at the picture and noticed that Valora didn't look as happy as she had when she was around him, or anyone in the group.

"Grandma," Steven put a hand on her shoulder, "maybe we should head back to where we're holding up."

"Yeah," Daryl nodded his head, "it's not that far away."

"So how're Nana and Bompa?" Steven asked his grandma as they began to walk back to the prison, "and Randy?"

"They're..." she started and then she shook her head, "they're struggling."

"Maybe we could bring them to where we're holding up," Steven said his voice full of hope, "I mean, we've got plenty of room. I'm sure that we could fit three more people into the group."

"We'll have to get the okay from Rick, but I'm sure that he'll be okay with it," Daryl nodded back to Steven with a smile.

"That's a relief," Steven's grandma sighed, "we're beginning to struggle. We've got at least two walkers a day that break through the fence."

"So what were you doing out in the forest?" Daryl asked turning his head slightly looking back to see her.

"I was out on a supply run, but then I ran into those bastards," she grumbled her face hardening.

"Who are they?" Steven asked.

"These men who think that they're all that in a bag of chips," she grumbled, "they're all built like body builders. Really sick bastards if you ask me. These men are not people that you want to mess with."

"They sound pretty stupid," Daryl mumbled.

"They've killed people," the woman said as Steven helped her over the fallen tree from before, "the only reason they haven't taken us out is because we've got 'old people' is what they say."

"We'll get you guys out of there," Daryl said, "with or without Rick's permission."

"We've got guns, swords, knives, and food," the woman said looking to Daryl, "I hope that that'll get your leader to let us stay with you all."

"He's a good man," Steven said, "and we know you, so letting you guys in the group won't be hard at all."

"We should move quickly," the woman nodded her head, "this is the longest I've ever been gone, and I think that they might be starting to worry."

"Let's hurry," Steven said looking to his dad with a determined look in his eyes.

* * *

The door opened, and the three women turned their heads to see the scrawny man from the helicopter. He was smiling to the three woman which cause Valora to feel a little creeped out at how fake his smile was. He held his arms out, and he smiled just a little bit wider.

"Welcome to Woodbury," he said letting his arms drop to his sides.


	44. Baby Steps

"What isn't there to like here?" the Governor laughed as he gestured to the entire town as he swung an arm in the direction of the street, "we've got walls to keep biters out, people guarding the walls just in case, and all of the kind people within it."

"I don't know," Michonne mumbled to herself as she walked down the street with Andrea and the Governor.

"Well, I really hope that you'll be willing to stay," the Governor said with a charming smile, "we could really use the people."

"We'll think about it," Andrea smiled to him in a flirtatious way causing Michonne's stomach to turn.

"I'll leave the two of you to yourselves," Michonne said as she turned around and began walking back, "I'll be in with Valora and her kids."  
"See you later," Andrea said barely above a whisper as she watched Michonne walk away quickly.

"Don't worry about her," the Governor smiled as he wrapped an arm around Andrea's shoulders, "I'm sure that she's just not one for socializing very much."

"No, she tends to distance herself from people," Andrea sighed as she turned her head back slightly, "if it weren't for Valora being the only one talking, I think that I might have just gone and ended it."

"Now look where you are now that you didn't do something crazy like that?" the Governor smiled as he looked around the town, "you're safe now, and you can now sleep without having to keep one eye open."

"I really think that we should get leaving as soon as we can," Michonne muttered as she paced in Valora's recovery room, "that Governor here is starting to get Andrea to believe that this place is all good."

"She had always been the one who believes the bad guys," Valora sighed, "she did fall for Shane..."

"You must be glad though," Michonne said with a smirk.

"What?" Valora asked her confused.

"If she didn't like the bad guys, I'm sure that she would've gone after Daryl," Michonne laughed as she sat down in her chair.

"Nope," Valora shook her head, "Daryl told me that all of the women back at camp were to naggy. He said that he wouldn't sleep with them even if they paid him."

Michonne chuckled, "he's a wise man."

"How come you can only laugh like this when you're around me, and not Andrea?" Valora asked her.

"Something about Andrea makes me think that she'll give up on us for the safety of herself," Michonne said as she began tapping her foot on the ground, "I don't know. I guess that I know that you wouldn't rat your friends out for anything."

"True," Valora sighed, "Andrea is famous for doing things like that, "to believe she used to be a Civil Rights Attorney."

"It is hard to believe," Michonne sighed as she shook her head, "but I guess I still consider her a close friend, after all, she did save our asses a couple of times during the winter."

"That is true," Valora smiled, but then shook her head, "I just wouldn't put my life in her hands too often."

"Me neither," Michonne laughed as the two of them enjoyed their time together.

It was until Valora stopped laughing as she looked down to her hands, and watched as she played with her thumbs, "do you think that we'll ever run into my son, or Daryl again?"

"What makes you say that?" Michonne asked feeling slight concern about the well being of her friend.

"I, I know that they're still out there, but did they go farther away like they had planned, or did they stick around?" Valora mostly asked herself, "I just worry that we'll never meet up again in the future.

Michonne stood up and sat on the side of the bed as she put a hand on her friends shoulder, "we'll find them. I'm sure of it."

"Thanks," Valora smiled weakly as she looked to Michonne, "you've been a great friend for the past few months."  
Michonne nodded her head with a smile as she moved back to sit in the chair. The door to her room opened to reveal the nurse who was walking in with her babies. Valora warmly smiled as she was handed her little boy and girl. Valora smiled to her little kids who were sucking on their thumbs as they were slightly whining because of their dreams.

"They're the sweetest things," Valora sighed with a motherly smile, "I can't wait for Daryl to see them. I'm sure Steven will be thrilled to be the big brother that he's always wanted to be."

"Isn't he eighteen now?" Michonne asked her, "that's a lot of years in between."

"He'll probably act like the second father," Valora chuckled as she waved to the nurse who left the room, "at least it'll give him practice for when he had kids in the future."

"How do you take care of kids during an apocalypse?" Michonne asked.

"No idea," Valora shook her head as she looked down to to her little girl, and then over to her little boy, "want to hold one of them?"  
"Sure," Michonne smiled as she stood up and walked over taking the little boy in her arms, "you're going to protect your mommy when you get bigger, aren't you?"

"He's going to have to wait till at least thirteen to shoot a gun," Valora nodded her head firmly, "no son of mine is going to accidentally lose a finger because of a misfire."

That got Michonne to laugh, "if I had a boy I'd force him to learn how to shoot a gun whether he wanted to or not. It'd be for his own protection."

"Good thing he's got you there to protect him," Valora smiled to her, "and he'll have Daryl and the rest of the group there for him while he's learning."

Michonne nodded her head with a smile, "you've got a good mother, you know that?"

"Stop, you're making me blush," Valora smirked as she let out a chuckle, "you know, we never had a baby shower."  
"I'll be sure that we somehow find something in a Babies R Us," Michonne smirked, "I'm sure that they'll have plenty of things."

* * *

"Who's this?" Rick asked not pleased at how Daryl could bring a random stranger to where their home is.

"Listen," Daryl held a hand up to stop Rick from losing it, "this woman is Valora's mother. She's living with her parents and brother. They're living in terrible conditions, but the thing is is that they've got the weapons and food. We could use this Rick."  
"Please," Steven looked to Rick with pleading eyes, "she's my grandmother."

Rick looked around to the people in the group, and everyone simply shrugged their shoulders leaving the decision up to Rick. Rick sighed and nodded his head, "alright," Rick nodded his head, "I want Steven and Jacqui to go with Valora's mother. Jacqui you've gotten better at shooting, one of the best, I'll need everyone else to stay because we're clearing out the prison today."

"Alright," Jacqui nodded her head as she smiled to Valora's grandmother and Steven, and then she looked back to Rick, "which car do you want us to take?"

"Take the truck, you'll be able to get everything in the back, and get everyone in the truck all at the same time," Rick nodded his head, "alright everyone, let's get moving."

"I love you," Jacqui kissed T-dog on the lips before departing, and leaving down the field to the truck where Steven and his grandmother were already waiting..

"Be safe," T-dog whispered to himself as he watched Jacqui walk down the field, and he looked to Daryl who was scratching the itch he had on the back of his neck, "something is going to happen, I don't know what, but something is going to happen."

Daryl nodded his head, "I don't want him going alone. It just doesn't sit right with me."

"How do you think I feel about letting Rick just send my wife off like that?" T-dog sighed as he turned around to look up to where everyone else was waiting for the two of them to get there, "let's go, before we get Rick angry."

"I think that he already is," Daryl muttered as he adjusted his crossbow.

"When isn't he?" T-dog laughed getting a smiled out of Daryl, "true, true."

* * *

"Only a couple more days," Michonne sighed as she plopped down in the chair of Valora's room.

"Thank god," Valora sighed, "I never thought I'd miss the faces of the dead so much."

Michonne slightly chuckled, "me too. I"ve been wanting to knock a couple of suckers on their feet for quite a while now."  
"I can see you wanting to do that," Valora smiled, "is it weird that I think that?"

"No, it's just something normal now a days I guess," Michonne smiled as she turned her head to look out the window only to see Andrea heading in their direction, "Andrea wants us to stay."

"Stay here?" Valora asked with a raised eyebrow, "sure it might be safe and all, but that governor really gives me the creeps. Like with his smile and all. He's got a third grade teacher pedophile look to him."

Michonne laughed, "I love the way that you worded that, third grade teacher pedophile. It perfectly meets the description."

Just as Valora was about to talk again Andrea walked in the door holding something behind her back, "look what I was able to sneak from the kitchen."

"No way," Valora's mouth dropped as she took the box from her when it was within reach, "freaking frosted flakes. I thought that they'd be out of stuff like this."

"I assumed that you might want something sweet after a long time of not having anything," Andrea smiled as she sat down in the chair next to her bed, "they have a lot more where that came from."

"Tell them I'd like five boxes to go please," Valora laughed as she opened the box and grabbed a handful before shoving it in her mouth.

"I was thinking that maybe we could stay a little longer," Andrea sighed, "not take five boxes of their food to go."

"You just ruined my meal," Valora sighed as she handed the box to her, "you ruined it by using it as bribery."

"Think of it more of a gift," Andrea smiled.

"I bet you the governor put you up to this," Michonne muttered as she avoided eye contact with her.

"No, I did this on my own," Andrea looked to Michonne with slight anger in her eyes, and it showed by the way she glared at her, "I don't think that it'll be safe out there. It'll be better here for your kids, they'll at least get to grow up in a life where they'll hardly have to deal with walkers."

"But they'd grow up in a world without meeting their dad," Valora said with little to no emotion as she looked to Andrea, and then her eyes drifted to her hands in her lap, "I've made my decision Andrea, I'm leaving as soon as possible."

"Valora," Andrea whispered as if she was hurt by her words.

"You'd go with us," Valora sighed, "but it seems that a warm bed is all that you really care for at the moment."

Andrea stood up feeling offended, and she stormed out of the room with a slam of the door. Valora huffed as she glared out the window watching Andrea pass by the window. Valora sighed as she then looked to Michonne who had a smile on her face.

"What?" Valora asked feeling slightly worried at how Michonne was smiling at her.

"She'll have something to think about now," Michonne sighed, "I swear she's dumber than a bag of nails."

"She did lose people that were close to her though," Valora sadly sighed.

"Boo-hoo," Michonne waved her hand, "everyone's lost someone. There's no need to feel more pity for her than anyone else."

"You're right," Valora sighed with a smile, "do you think they'll let me out tomorrow? At least let me walk around a bit."

"I'll help you out of the bed right now if you want," Michonne shrugged her shoulders, "you could walk around the room. Get used to it after not walking for so long."

"Alright," Valora huffed as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Michonne was quick to get to her side, and she put Valora's arm over her shoulder. Valora stood up after Michonne counted to three, and she immediatly began to collapse. Michonne backed up and set Valora on the bed.

"Baby steps," Michonne smiled.

"Baby steps," Valora sighed as she looked up to her.


End file.
